DERBLICTS 


BY JAMES SPRUNT 


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James J. Wolfe 


Presented to 


TRINITY COLLEGE LIBRARY 
By Mrs. J. J. Wolfe 


DERELICTS 


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DERELICTS 


AN ACCOUNT OF SHIPS LOST AT SEA IN 
GENERAL COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC AND 
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BLOCKADE 
RUNNERS STRANDED ALONG THE 
NORTH CAROLINA COAST 1861-1865 


BY 
JAMES SPRUNT 


Author of ““CHRONICLES OF THE CAPE FEAR RIVER” 


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WILMINGTON, N. C. 
1920 


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J. G. BROULHAC HAMILTON 
ALUMNI PROFESSOR OF HISTORY 
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 


WHOSE GENIUS FOR THINGS HISTORICAL INSPIRED 
| ME WITH A DESIRE TO CONTRIBUTE SOME REMINIS- 
_ CENCES OF A STRANGE TRAFFIC THROUGH A BELEAG- 
_ URED CITY TO THE HISTORY OF THE LOWER CAPE FEAR. 


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“Some night to the lee of the land I shall steal, 
(Heigh-ho to be home from the sea!) 
No pilot but Death at the rudderless wheel, 
(None knoweth the harbor as he!) 
To lie where the slow tide creeps hither and fro 
And the shifting sand laps me around, for I know 
That my gallant old crew are in Port long ago— 
Forever at peace with the sea!” 
The Song of the Derelict. 
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL JOHN McCrAeE. 


FOREWORD. 


About twenty-five years ago I wrote for the 
Southport Leader a series of stories of the Cape Fear 
blockade from my personal experiences as a par- 
ticipant in the blockade runners Advance, Eugénie, 
North Heath, Lilian, Susan Beirne, and finally in 
the Alonzo, which greatly interested the Cape Fear 
pilots who had taken part with me in this hazardous 
service and were found entertaining by some other - 
readers. Later, in the year 1gor, I contributed at 
the request of Chief Justice Walter Clark for his ad- 
mirable North Carolina Regimental Histories an ac- 
count of my personal adventures and observations in 
the North Heath, Lilian, and Susan Beirne, in the 
capacity of purser, or paymaster, at the age of seven- 
teen and a half years, and as prisoner of war on the 
Keystone State and the Glaucus, Federal cruisers, 
and later prisoner of war in Fort Macon-and in 
Fortress Monroe. 

Again, in 1914, I wrote in the Cape Fear Chron- 
icles at some length on this interesting phase of Cape 
Fear history, in the form largely of personal remi- 
niscences, which have been most generously com- 


Xx FOREWORD 


mented upon by eminent writers and historians; and 
now, at the end of the skein, I have endeavored, in 
this unpretentious little volume, to reveal some 
secrets of old ocean which it has kept hidden in its 
bosom for more than half a century. I have desired 
to refrain from repetition, but in several instances 
it was unavoidable. This compilation of new stories 
and twice-told tales is now presented in more port- 
able form than in the original bulky volumes. The 
title, Derelicts, is general, but much space has been 
given to blockade runners destroyed or left as dere- 
licts along the Cape Fear coast during the War be- 
tween the States. Some space has also been given 
to a few sea tales not dealing directly with derelict 
ships. 

The Northern Navy doubtless contributed more 
than any other arm of the Federal forces to the final 
defeat of the Southern Confederacy, and this was 
because the South at the beginning of hostilities did 
not possess a single ship of war. 

A dozen such ships as the ironclad Merrimac, 
which type originated in the South during the war 
and later revolutionized the navies of the world, 
could probably have entirely destroyed the Federal 
fleet of inefficient ships in the second year of the war, 
raised the blockade, and compelled the recognition of 


FOREWORD x1 


the Great Powers. The errors of the Confederacy 
were numerous, but its failure to buy or build 
promptly an efficient navy proved irremediable and 
fatal. “Yet with its limited resources,” says Chief 
Justice Clark in concluding his history, “‘the Confed- 
eracy was on the very eve of success, but some un- 
expected fatality intervened. At Shiloh within half 
an hour of the capture of the Federal Army with 
Grant and Sherman at its head, a single bullet, 
which caused the death of Albert Sidney Johnston, 
changed the history of the continent. At Chan- 
cellorsville, one scattering volley, fired by mistake 
of his own men, took the life of Stonewall Jack- 
son, when, but for that fatality, the capture of 
Hooker and his whole army was imminent. The 
unexpected humiliation of the Federal Government 
in surrendering Mason and Slidell to British threats 
avoided a war with that power, and, with it, the 
independence of the South, which would have come 
with the command of the seas, within the power at 
that time of Britain’s fleet. If Stuart’s cavalry had 
been on hand at Gettysburg, or even a competent 
corps commander, to have held our gains of the 
first two days, in all human probability the war would 
have ended in a great Southern victory at that spot. 
Had Mr. Davis, when he sent his commissioners to 


Xil FOREWORD 


England to negotiate a loan of $15,000,000 acceded 
to the pressure of foreign capitalists to make it 

$60,000,000, not only would the Southern finances 
~ not have broken down (which was the real cause of 
our defeat) and the Southern troops have been 
amply supplied, but European Governments would 
have intervened in favor of Southern independence 
ere they would have suffered their influential capi- 
talists to lose that sum.” 

Notwithstanding the increasing effectiveness of the 
blockade and the serious reverses which followed 
Chancellorsville to Appomattox, a buoyant optimism 
as to the ultimate triumph of the Southern cause pre- 
vailed among the blockade runners; and it was not 
until the failure of Wilkinson in the Chameleon, and 
Maffitt in the Owl, to enter Charleston, which was 
captured after the fall of Wilmington, that hope 
gave place to despair, for then, to quote Captain 
Wilkinson, “As we turned away from the land, our 
hearts sank within us, while the conviction forced 
itself upon us that the cause for which so much blood 
had been shed, so many miseries bravely endured, 
and so many sacrifices cheerfully made, was about to 
perish at last.” 

JAMEs SPRUNT. 
Wilmington, N. C., January 1, 1920. 


MARINE WANDERERS. 


Years before the beginning of the Great War I 
took passage from New York for Liverpool in one 
of the most beautiful examples of marine architec- 
ture of that era. When we were about a thousand 
miles from Queenstown, our port of call, we sighted 
a vessel in distress, dismasted and water-logged, 
crowded as we thought with passengers. Our 
course was changed to carry us nearer the vessel, 
when we perceived that what we thought were hu- 
man beings on deck were the bare ribs of a barque 
from St. John’s, New Brunswick, loaded with tim- 
ber, and that the dynamic force of the sea had 
broken away the vessel’s bulwarks, leaving the 
frame standing, which resembled a crowd of men. A 
derelict abandoned upon the wide ocean, staggering 
like a drunken man on the heaving bosom of the 
sea, a menace to every vessel upon the great high- 
way of commerce, this mass of unwieldy timber was 
a greater danger in the darkness than any other 
peril of the ocean. 


2 DERELICTS 


To my surprise and indignation our captain 
turned away from the wreck without attempting its 
destruction by dynamite as he was in duty bound to 
compass. We were one of the famous flyers of that 
day and could not afford, he said, to reduce our 
record of speed by any delay. 

Three months after this incident I was returning 
homeward on the same steamer, and when we were 
at least 2,000 miles from Queenstown I sighted, 
through a powerful binocular, a wreck ahead, and 
as we approached nearer I said to the first officer, 
“That is the derelict we passed three months ago.” 
He laughed at the idea of such a thing. ‘Why,” 
said he, ‘‘she is thousands of miles away in another 
current if she is still afloat.” But my observation 
was correct. We ran close to the same vessel that 
we had seen three months before. What destruc- 
tion of life and property she had wrought mean- 
time, no one could tell, and we again disgraced the 
service by leaving her untouched. 

The meaning of a derelict in law is a thing vol- 
untarily abandoned or willfully cast away by its 
proper owner; especially a ship abandoned at sea. 

Mr. William Allingham, author of 4 Manual of 
Marine Meteorology, whom I quote at length, says 
in Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, February, 1912: 


MARINE WANDERERS 3 


“Every storm that travels over the waters which 
divide, yet unite, the New World and the Old, leaves 
in its wake some sailing ship abandoned by her 
crew. As a rule these dreaded derelicts are of 
wooden build and laden with cargoes of lumber. 
Often they have carried costly cargoes under every 
sky with credit to themselves and profit to their 
owners, but the increasing infirmities of age have 
caused them to engage in the lowliest forms of 
ocean-carrying. Under the adverse influence of a 
careering cyclone these gallant craft meet their fate. 
The savage sea opens wide their straining seams; 
the pumps, clatter as they may, are quite unable to 
cope with the ingress of sea water; and the dis- 
heartened crews seek safety in a passing ship at the 
first opportunity. ‘Thus it happens that many a 
lumber-laden sailing ship drifts deviously at the will 
of wind and current, a menace to safe naviga- 
tion, until her hull is driven into fragments by the 
combined forces of AXolus and Neptune, or reaches 
land after a solitary drift of many weary leagues 
of sea. 

“Quite naturally, the North Atlantic holds the 
record for drifting derelicts, inasmuch as it is the 
great ocean highway of the nations. During the 
five years 1887 to 1891 not fewer than 957 derelict 


4 DERELICTS 


ships were reported to the Hydrographer at Wash- 
ington, then Capt. (now Admiral) Richardson 
Clover, U. S. Navy, as in evidence between the 
fifty-second meridian of west longitude and the east 
coast of North America. Of this large number 332 
were identified by name, and the remainder were 
either capsized or battered out of recognition. On 
an average there were about twenty derelicts drift- 
ing in the North Atlantic at any instant, and the life 
of each was one month. The Washington Hydro- 
graphic Office receives reports from shipmasters 
under every flag setting forth the appearance and 
the geographical position of every derelict sighted 
during the passage across, and this information is 
published in the weekly Hydrographic Bulletins and 
the monthly Pilot Charts, which are freely dis- 
tributed among navigators visiting American ports 
by the branch offices of that department of the 
United States Navy. The British Board of Trade 
also furnishes shipmasters in United Kingdom 
ports with similar printed information, and the 
British Meteorological Office has followed suit by 
graphic representation on their monthly Pilot 
Charts of the North Atlantic. 

“Many derelicts disappear within a few days of 
abandonment, but some drift several thousand miles 


MARINE WANDERERS — 5 


before the end comes. A vessel left to her fate near 
New York, for example, may drift southward with 
the Labrador current until not far from Cape Hat- 
teras. Thence she finds a way into the relatively 
warm waters of the Gulf Stream, and may event- 
ually drift ashore on the west coast of Europe. 
Should the derelict happen to get into the Sargasso 
Sea, an area in mid-Atlantic of light winds and va- 
riable currents, made memorable by the pen of 
Julius Chambers, she will probably travel in a circle 
for a long series of days. 

“The schooner V7. L. White, abandoned during 
the blizzard of March, 1888, just eastward of the 
Delaware Capes, made tracks for the Banks of 
Newfoundland; there she remained for many days, 
right on the route of palatial passenger liners; then 
she got another slant to the northeast, and even- 
tually drove ashore at Haskeir Island, one of the 
Hebrides, after traversing 6,800 miles in 310 days. 
Her timber cargo was salved by the islanders in 
fairly good condition. 

“Metal ships are seldom left derelict; but there 
are not wanting remarkable verified drifts even of 
this class. In October, 1876, the British iron barque 
Ada Iredale was abandoned, with her coal cargo 
burning fiercely, when 2,000 miles east of the Mar- 


6 DERELICTS 


quesas Islands, South Pacific. She moved slowly 
westward with the south equatorial current, traveled 
2,500 miles in 241 days, and was then picked up by 
a French warship, which towed her to Tahiti. After 
the fire had died out the hull was repaired; she was 
fitted with new masts and rigging, and has ever 
since been known as the Annie Johnson of San Fran- 
cisco, Cal. On her being boarded some time ago, 
she was still doing well and quite a handsome ves- 
sel. In April, 1882, the Falls of Afton was pre- 
cipitately abandoned while on the way from Glas- 
gow to Calcutta with a valuable cargo. A few 
days later she was picked up by a French vessel 
and taken to Madeira. Since that time she has 
had many successful voyages; but the master at the 
time of her abandonment suffered severely under 
the finding of a court of inquiry. 

“Ships which have been abandoned more than 
once in their career are not unknown. In Novem- 
ber, 1888, the iron ship Duncow stranded close to 
Dunkirk Harbor during heavy weather. The crew 
sought safety on shore, and the ship afterwards 
floated. Belgian fishermen boarded the derelict, 
obtained the services of a tug, and took her to Ter- 
neuzen, thus assuring for themselves salvage pay- 
ment, which could not have been legally claimed 


MARINE WANDERERS 7 


had she reached a French port. In 1897 this ves- 
sel, while carrying timber from Puget Sound to 
Australia, went ashore not far from her destina- 
tion. She again floated off after abandonment; and 
once again a tugboat earned salvage by bringing the 
derelict into port uninjured. 

“Derelict ships add to the difficulties of trans- 
Atlantic navigation; hence the demand of the ship- 
ping industry for specially constructed derelict de- 
stroyers, such as the American Seneca, to patrol the 
Atlantic, experience having shown that a derelict is 
not nearly so impossible to locate as is sometimes 
alleged. The barque Siddartha was abandoned near 
the Azores in February, 1899. She drifted slowly 
to the northeast until within 400 miles of Queens- 
town, and there she hovered over the liner tracks 
for several successive weeks. Moved by a joint ap- 
peal of the White Star and Cunard Companies, the 
British Admiralty sent out two warships in quest of 
the derelict, and she was soon anchored in Bantry 
Bay. This vessel, while derelict, was reported to 
the United States Hydrographic Office by more than 
sixty ships. In February, 1895, the barque Birgitte 
was abandoned on the western side of the Atlantic; 
and on the 1st of March she was sighted about 1,000 
miles west of Cape Clear. Drifting slowly east- 


Ady HE 
mY 


8 DERELICTS 


ward, almost continuously on the routes followed 
by the large trans-Atlantic liners, this derelict was 
found by a tugboat and towed into Queenstown. 
Forty-three vessels had reported her to Washing- 
ton during the interval. At nighttime and in thick 
weather such dangers may be passed quite close 
without any one’s having an inkling of their prox- 
imity. About the same date, but more to the north- 
east, the Russian barque Louise was abandoned. 
She apparently went north as far as the Faroe Isl- 
ands, under the influence of the Gulf Stream exten- 
sion; thence proceeded eastward; and was picked 
up by two steam trawlers when sixteen miles from 
Aalesund, Norway, and thence towed into that port, 
after a drift of approximately 1,400 miles. The 
American schooner Alma Cumming was left to her 
fate in February, 1895, off Chesapeake Bay. After 
the end of May nothing was heard from her until 
March, 1896, when she was about 800 miles off 
the Cape Verde Islands. She was then totally dis- 
masted, had evidently been unsuccessfully set on 
fire by some passing ship, and her deck was level 
with the sea surface. In August she was observed 
ashore on an island off the San Blas coast, Isthmus 
of Panama, with the natives busily engaged annex- 
ing all they could from the wreck. On the 1st of 


MARINE WANDERERS 9 


March, 1911, in 53 deg. N., 28 deg. W., the Rus- 
sian steamer Korea was abandoned by her crew; 
and two days later, about a degree farther east, the 
steamer Jonian sustained considerable damage by 
collision with the derelict. 

“Some of the reports of alleged derelict ships are 
as thrilling as a nautical novel. In May, 1823, the 
Integrity fell in with a derelict close to Jamaica, 
the decks and hull of which were showing a rich 
crop of barnacles. Her cabin was full of water, 
but a trunk was fished up which contained coins, 
rings, and watches. This salvage realized 3,000 
pounds. In August, 1872, the schooner Lancaster 
sighted a dismasted derelict, the Glenalvon, on board 
of which several skeletons of men were discovered, 
but not a morsel of food. An open Bible, it is re- 
ported, lay face downward on the cabin table along- 
side a loaded revolver and a bottle containing a 
piece of paper on which was written: ‘Jesus, guide 
this to some helper! Merciful God, don’t let us 
perish!” All the bodies were reverently committed 
to the deep, and the derelict left for whatever the 
future had in store for her. 

“In 1882 the Nova Scotia barque L. E. Cann was 
towed into a United States port by a steamship 
which had found her adrift. Later on in dry dock, 


y Lee ale a5 


10 DERELICTS 


fifteen auger holes were located in her hull, below 
the water line. They had all been bored from the 
inside, and subsequent inquiry revealed the fact that 
her former captain had conspired with a resident 
of Vera Cruz to load the vessel with a bogus cargo, 
insure it heavily, scuttle her when in a suitable posi- 
tion at sea, and divide the insurance money. Un- 
fortunately for these partners in crime, the barque 
did not lend herself to their nefarious operations 
nearly as well as was expected. 

“In 1894 the Austrian barque Vila, carrying a 
cargo of bones, which were said to have been gath- 
ered from the battle fields of Egypt, was found 
derelict by a Norwegian steamer and towed into 
New York. Not a word has ever been heard as to 
the fate of this vessel’s crew. Presumably they 
took to the boats for some reason, and disappeared 
without leaving a trace. About the same time the 
sailing vessel C. E. Morrison was fallen in with, 
a drifting derelict and set on fire. The crew of a 
destroyer first salved a bank-book, a sextant, fifty 
charts, and some pictures, all of which were event- 
ually returned to their rightful owner, Captain 
Hawes, who had been compelled to leave his ves- 
sel without standing on the order of his going. In 
1895 the derelict and burning barkantine Celestina, 


ui 


MARINE WANDERERS 11 


bound from Swansea to the Strait of Magellan, 
was boarded by a boat’s crew of the barque Annie 
Maud. A written message was found on the cabin 
table stating that she had been abandoned in open 
boats. The fire having been partially subdued, sail 
was made on the prize, and volunteers navigated 
her to Rio Janeiro. 

“The Marie Celeste is a mystery of the sea. This 
brig left America for Gibraltar; and nothing more 
was heard of her until she was sighted approaching 
the Strait in a suspicious manner, when she was 
found to be derelict. Her hull was sound, there 
was no sign of an accident aloft, and her boats were 
in their appointed places. Some remains of a meal 
on the cabin table were still fresh, and a watch was 
ticking unconcernedly; yet her captain and his wife 
and daughter, together with the crew, had disap- 
peared forever. 

“Nautical novelists have made moving pictures 
of drifting derelicts, and hoaxers have also utilized 
them. In 1893 some witty person closely copied 
parts of a soul-stirring yarn by Clark Russell, and 
the alleged modern experience was telegraphed 
round the world, appeared in the press, and was 
then decisively contradicted. It was asserted that 
the Norwegian ship Elsa Anderson arrived at Gal- 


12 DERELICTS 


veston with an English-built brig in tow, which had 
apparently been burned and sunk more than a half 
century previously. A submarine seismic disturb- 
ance was invented to account for the vessel’s return 
to the surface. The hull was covered with strange 
sea shells, and in the hold were chests containing 
many guineas bearing date 1800, several watches, 
and a stomacher of pearls! One of three skeletons 
was said to be that of a man over seven feet in 
height. This hoax was successful until it reached 
Galveston. Then the authorities denied that the 
story had the slighest foundation in fact. Six years 
later a similar hoax was perpetrated, which ought 
immediately to have been recognized as merely a 
variant of The Frozen Pirate, by the above-men- 
tioned eminent nautical novelist. It was gravely 
asserted that the barque Silicon, on her way from 
the United States to Greenland, had picked up an 
old-fashioned derelict ship near the Greenland coast. 
When access to the hold was gained, the salvors, so 
ran the hoax, discovered that she was laden with 
furs in good condition; and her log book showed 
that she had been abandoned by her crew in 1848. 
Like the ship imagined by Clark Russell, she was 
said to have been fast in the ice in the far North. 
One of the most ridiculous derelict-ship hoaxes of 


MARINE WANDERERS 13 


the past century had quite a boom in 1896. A burn- 
ing derelict, read an astonished world, had been 
passed between the Cape of Good Hope and Aus- 
tralia, with her lower holds full of coal and petrol- 
eum, and the between-decks portion crammed with 
the dead bodies of people who had met their fate 
by suffocation while on their way from Russia to 
Brazil. The burning cargo had generated gas 
which suffocated the emigrants; the bodies had 
swollen out of human shape, and subsequent explo- 
sions had torn many limb from limb! This tissue 
of falsehoods appeared in many of the world’s daily 
papers without comment. 

“H. M. S. Resolute, since broken up, was one of 
the most famous of derelicts. She was abandoned 
in 77 deg. 40 min. N., ror deg. 20 min. W., drifted 
southward in the center of a solid sheet of ice, and 
was eventually picked up by an American whale- 
ship off Cape Mercy, in 65 deg. N. After having 
been refitted by the United States Government, she 
was presented to England with impressive cere- 
mony. A desk of the President of the United 
States, in the White House, Washington, D. C., 
was made from the timbers of the Resolute, and 
sent by Her Majesty Queen Victoria in memory of 
that courtesy and loving-kindness of America to 


een ht dt i! 


14 DERELICTS 


England. It is a substantial token of the good will 
existing between the two kindred peoples.” 

The gifted editor of our National Geographic So- 
ciety’s admirable magazine, Gilbert H. Grosvenor, 
in the September number, 1918, page 235, says on 
the subject of “Strange Stories of Derelicts,”’ “How 
hard it is sometimes to send a ship to the bottom 
is strikingly shown by the experience of the San 
Francisco in destroying the derelict three-master 
Drisko a decade or so ago. That derelict was only 
248 tons, but she was lumber laden. The officers 
of the San Francisco first tried to tow her to port, 
but found that impossible. Then they attached 
three 30-pound guncotton bombs to her keel and 
set them off, but still she floated. Five more bombs 
were set off; these broke her back and frames, but 
still she refused to go to the bottom. ‘Then the San 
Francisco rammed her amidships and broke her in 
two, releasing the cargo; but even after that it took 
several shells to drive the afterpart of the staunch 
old schooner down into the jurisdiction of Davy 
Jones. 

“Even in peace times ships are often reported 
missing, and appear to have been ‘sunk without 
trace.’ It is believed that most of such catas- 
trophes are the result of collisions with derelicts. 


MARINE WANDERERS 15 


How many more such collisions there will be in the 
future may be imagined when it is stated that for 
two years the number of derelicts has greatly in- 
creased and the steps for their destruction have been 
much reduced. 

“In peace times,” continues Mr. Grosvenor, 
“there is no other menace to navigation as danger- 
ous as the derelict, unless it be the submerged ice- 
berg, such as sunk the Titanic. Refusing to stay 
in one location, yielding to no law of navigation, 
hiding most of her bulk beneath the waves, the 
lonely, desolate, moss-covered, weed-grown derelict, 
with deck or keel all but awash, comes out of the 
night or through the fog as an assassin out of a 
lonely alley, and woe to the sailor who has not de- 
tected her approach. 

“Drifting hither and yon, now forced on by the 
wind of a stormy sea, now caught in a current and 
driven along, these rudderless, purposeless, wander- 
ers cover many a weary mile, with only screaming 
sea birds to break the monotony of the roaring gale 
or the soft surge of a placid sea. Sighted frequently 
for weeks together, now and again they disappear, 
often reappearing suddenly hundreds of miles away. 
As many as a thousand have been reported in a 


16 DERELICTS 


single year in the North Atlantic. The majority 
of them frequent the Gulf Stream. 

“Examining the records of the Hydrographic 
Office, one finds that in six years twenty-five derelicts 
were reported as having drifted at least a thousand 
miles each; eleven have 2,000 miles apiece to their 
credit, while three sailed 5,000 rudderless miles. 

‘The classic story of the wanderings of a derelict 
is that of the Fannie E. Wolston. Abandoned Oc- 
tober 15, 1891, off Cape Hatteras, she traveled 
northward in the Gulf Stream. When off Norfolk, 
Va., she changed her course and headed across 
the broad Atlantic toward the shores of Africa. 
On June 13, 1892, she was sighted half way across. 
Then she headed southward for more than 300 
miles; then shifted her course to the northeast for 
another 200 miles, retraced her track for several 
hundred miles, turned again and went in the oppo- 
site direction, like a shuttle in the loom instead of a 
ship upon the sea. Then she took another tack and 
headed west for nearly 400 miles; then shaped her 
course north for 300 miles, and then headed east 
again for 700 miles; so that in January she was 
almost in the same latitude and longitude that she 
had been in the previous June. In the following 
May she was a thousand miles away from where 


a 


MARINE WANDERERS 17 


she had been in January, on the border of Cancer 
and midway between Florida and Africa. Again 
she headed toward America for 600 miles, and re- 
peated her shuttle-in-the-loom performance. Then 
followed many long months of erratic zigzags and 
she was sighted for the last time 250 miles off Sa- 
vannah, Ga. She had remained afloat and had out- 
generaled the waves for two years and a half, 
during which time she had sailed more than 7,000 
aimless miles. 

“In normal times,’’ continues Mr. Grosvenor, 
“the Hydrographic Office of the Navy Department 
keeps careful check on the derelicts. Every ship 
that sights one of these menaces to navigation re- 
ports its location. The names of some of them 
remain visible, while others are susceptible of iden- 
tification by their appearance. The Hydrographic 
Office gives each wreck and derelict a serial number 
and plots its position on a map. Each report is 
registered with an identification number. In this 
way, by a system of cross checking, it is possible to 
identify each derelict, to determine the direction of 
its drift, and usually to get it so well located that the 
Coast Guard cutters may run it down and sink it.” 

On January 16, 1919, I addressed an inquiry to 
the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, on the 


18 DERELICTS 


subject of international protection of commerce in 
. the destruction of derelicts, ice observation, etc., to 
which I received the following courteous reply from 
Commodore Bertholf, dated February 7, 1919: 

“rt. Your letter of January 16, addressed to the 
Coast Geodetic Survey, seeking information on the 
subject of an arrangement between our Federal Govy- 
ernment and the Government of Great Britain prior 
to the Great War for the protection of commerce in 
the destruction of derelicts, has reached this office 
by reference. 

‘9, In reply I beg to state that Article VI of 
the International Convention for the Safety of Life 
at Sea, which was signed by the delegates of the 
various countries on January 20, 1914, provided for 
an international service of derelict destruction, study 
and observation of ice conditions, and an ice patrol. 

“3, Article VII of this convention invited the 
United States to undertake this international service, 
and provided that the high contracting powers which 
were interested in this international service con- 
tribute to the expense of maintaining this interna- 
tional service in certain proportions. 

‘“‘4. While Article VI of the convention provided 
that the new international service should be estab- 
lished with the least possible delay, the convention, 


MARINE WANDERERS 19 


as a whole, could not come into force until July 1, 
1915, and if the organization of the international 
service were deferred until after that date, the con- 
sequence would be that the two ice seasons of the 
years 1914 and 1915 would not be covered by the 
proposed international ice patrol, and, therefore, 
the British Government, acting on behalf of the 
other maritime powers, requested the United States 
to begin this international ice patrol and observation 
without delay and under the same conditions as pro- 
vided in the convention. The President directed this 
to be done, and the Coast Guard undertook the work 
and performed the ice patrol during the seasons of 
1914, 1915, and 1916. It was intended that the 
Coast Guard should also undertake the interna- 
tional service of derelict destruction at the conclu- 
sion of the ice patrol each year, but owing to the 
outbreak of the war in Europe in 1914, the inter- 
national service of derelict destruction was never 
begun. 

“5. As pointed out above, the international ice 
patrol and ice observation service was begun in 1914 
and was continued during 1915 and 1916, but for 
obvious reasons the patrol was discontinued in 1917 
and has not as yet been resumed. 


20 DERELICTS 


“6. Of course, as you are aware, the various 
Coast Guard cutters recover or destroy such dere- 
licts as may be found within a reasonable distance 
of our coast. 

‘7, J am sending you under separate cover a 
copy of the International Convention for the Safety 
of Life at Sea, also copies of Revenue-Cutter Serv- 
ice Bulletins Nos. 1, 3, and 5, covering reports of 
ice patrol for the years 1913, 1914, and 1915, re- 
spectively. The report of the ice patrol for 1916 
has not yet been published. 

“Respectfully, 
“(Signed) E. P. BERTHOLF, 
“Commodore Commandant.” 


LOST LINERS. 


About forty years ago the fine British barque 
David G. Worth, commanded by Capt. Thomas 
Williams, and owned by the writer, James Sprunt, 
sailed from Wilmington, N. C., with a full cargo 
of naval stores bound for the United Kingdom. The 
owner had spent $10,000 for extensive repairs in 
London on the previous voyage, and the ship was 
in every respect staunch and strong and classed Ar 
Lloyd’s and 3/3 II French Veritas. The captain’s 
wife accompanied him, and the crew numbered 
sixteen. 

From the day of her departure from Wilming- 
ton bound to Bristol up to the present time, not a 
word, not a sign of her, has ever come to light. As 
Mr. Joseph Horner said in Lost Liners: 


“We only know she sailed away 
“And ne’er was seen or heard of more.” 


“Lost absolutely, in the fullest and most awful 
sense of the term! Swallowed up wholly, myste- 
riously, by the devouring sea! Such has been the 


21 


Bee ka 


22 DERELICTS 


fate of many gallant ships; no single survivor to 
tell the story; no boat or piece of wreckage, no bot- 
‘tle, not a sign or syllable from the vasty deep to 
reveal the nature of the awful catastrophe by which 
vessel, cargo, crew, and passengers were blotted out 
of existence! There is a weirdness, an awful terror, 
in such mysterious disappearances. They fill the 
imagination with horror, and cause mental tension 
in the minds of relatives of the lost far harder to 
bear than when the fate of a wrecked vessel is told 
by survivors. The sinking of the Royal Charter, or 
of the London, or of the Northfleet, though grue- 
some and harrowing, does not produce in the mind 
that sense of pain which comes with the recollection 
of the fate of the President, or of the Pacific, or of 
the City of Boston.” 

Continuing, Mr. Horner in Chambers’s Journal 
says: ‘“The number of vessels which have so mys- 
teriously disappeared at sea that not a trace of them 
or of their crew or passengers has ever been found 
is larger than most people imagine. In the North 
Atlantic service alone, from the year 1841, when the 
President disappeared with 136 souls, to 1890, when 
the Thanemore of the Johnston Line, with 43 lives, 
never came to port, there have been, inclusive of 
these, no fewer than 24 big steamers absolutely and 


LOST LINERS 23 


completely blotted out of human knowledge, to- 
gether with their crews and passengers, numbering 
in all 1,453. At a very moderate estimate, the value 
of these vessels with their cargoes could not have 
been less than £5,000,000. The sum of human 
agony involved is terrible to contemplate. And 
every year vessels are posted up as missing. 

“The President, one of the earliest Atlantic liners, 
was the first steamer to be lost and never heard of 
again. She sailed from New York on the 11th of 
March, 1841, with 136 souls on board. She was 
a nearly new vessel, having left the Mersey on her 
first voyage on the 17th of July, 1840. The com- 
mander was Lieutenant Roberts, R. N., a man of 
iron will and resource. He had taken the Sirius on 
her first voyage from Queenstown to New York in 
1838 in eighteen and a half days. The Sirius was 
the first steamer owned by an English company 
which crossed the Atlantic, and but for the determi- 
nation of Lieutenant Roberts the crew would not 
have proceeded; they became mutinous, and said it 
was utter madness to go on in so small a craft. He 
insisted and had resort to firearms, and so brought 
the little vessel to her destination. 

“After the loss of the President in 1841, thirteen 
years elapsed in which only one life was lost by the 


i hi Aoi! 


24 DERELICTS 


wreck of an Atlantic steamer. It is a curious co- 
incidence that, after the President was lost and 
- never heard of, the next great loss of life, which 
occurred in 1854, was also that of a vessel which 
disappeared without leaving a trace. This was the 
City of Glasgow, which sailed with 480 souls on 
board. The Pacific, of the Collins Line, left Liver- 
pool on the 29th of June, 1856, and with her living 
freight of 240 was never more heard of. In the 
year 1859 an Anchor liner, the Tempest, mysteri- 
ously disappeared with 150 souls. The City of Bos- 
ton of the Inman Line, with 177 persons, was never 
heard of after leaving port on the 28th of January, 
1870. A board stating that she was sinking was 
found in Cornwall on February 11, 1870. The 
Allan liner Huronian left Glasgow in February, 
1902, for St. John’s and disappeared. The British 
gunboat Condor was lost in the Pacific in 1got. 
Besides these, the names of many lesser-known ves- 
sels swell the long list of tragic disappearances. 
“The White Star cattle steamer Naronic, with a 
crew of sixty hands and seventeen cattlemen, was 
lost in February or March, 1893, while on a voyage 
from Liverpool to New York. She was a month 
overdue before very much anxiety was felt, as it 
was known that heavy weather had been experi- 


LOST LINERS 25 


enced in the Atlantic, and it was thought that she 
might have broken down and was making for the 
Azores. A boat with the name Naronic on it was 
subsequently found half full of water and aban- 
doned. In this case the vessel was a new one, 
launched in May of the previous year. She was 
built with bulkheads and all modern improvements, 
was 460 feet long, and had engines of 3,000 horse- 
power. Yet she disappeared, perhaps 1,500 miles 
from New York, that being the location of the 
abandoned boat.” 

Probably the most mysterious disappearance of 
recent times is that of the United States collier 
transport Cyclops, which sailed from Barbados for 
Baltimore March 4, 1918, and has not been heard 
of since. The official information respecting this 
important vessel is fragmentary and disconnected. 
In December, 1917, she reached Bahia, Brazil, and 
was ordered to take on a cargo of manganese at 
Rio de Janeiro for the return voyage. The Navy 
Department exchanged several messages regarding 
her cargo with the commander in chief of the Pa- 
cific fleet, and, on February 7, the latter sent the fol- 
lowing message concerning damage to one of her 
engines: 


Pe AM A, aetna 
ft Dak en a Ry 


26 DERELICTS 


“Starboard high pressure engine found to be 
damaged on board U.S. S. Cyclops during passage 
- Bahia, Brazil, to Rio de Janeiro. Board of investi- 
gation reports accident due to loosening of nuts on 
follower ring studs, resulting in breaking of fol- 
lower ring. Cylinder is broken into two parts by 
plane of fracture passing from inboard upper edge 
down and outboard at angle of about 45 degrees. 
Cylinder cover and piston ring broken and piston 
rod bent just below piston, which is damaged. So 
far as now determined, responsibility seems to be 
upon engineer officer watch Lieut. L. J. Fingleton, 
who did not stop engines nor report noise. Board 
recommends that new cylinder, piston rod and pis- 
ton, piston rings and follower be manufactured. 
That cylinder cover be repaired by welding upon 
return United States. Repair of cylinder by weld- 
ing believed possible. Can not be made here. En- 
gine compounded and vessel will proceed thus when 
loaded.” 

She reached Barbados safely and began her voy- 
age from there to Baltimore. Being overdue, the 
Navy Department sent the following message to 
the naval stations at Key West, Charleston, Guan- 
tanamo, Navy Radio San Juan, and the U. S. S. 
Albert: 


LOST LINERS 27 


MarcH 22, 1918. 

“U.S. S. Cyclops sailed from Barbados March 
4 for Baltimore. Now about ten days overdue. 
Endeavor communicate Cyclops by radio and as- 
certain location and condition.” 

The following day the Navy Department sent a 
similar message to the commander of Squadron I, 
Patrol Force, Atlantic fleet. On March 24 the sta- 
tion at Charleston, S. C., reported that at intervals 
for twenty-three hours messages by radio had been 
sent in an endeavor to locate the Cyclops, but with- 
out success. Commander Belknap directed that 
calls be continued, and on March 26 the Navy De- 
partment sent the following message to the Gov- 
ernor of the Virgin Islands: 

“U.S. S. Cyclops sailed from Barbados March 
4 for Baltimore. Has not yet arrived. Have you 
any information regarding this vessel passing St. 
Thomas?” 

The reply was “No information regarding U. S. 
S. Cyclops.” 

Every station within radio communication of her 
route and every ship within call during the time of 
her passage, including foreign ships, was asked for 
any fragment of information. The search was con- 
tinued as long as it seemed possible to gain news of 


(AS IaRES OM TT 


28 DERELICTS 


her, but nothing definite was ever heard. The only 
suggestion of how she may have been lost is con- 
tained in a message to the Navy Department from 
‘the First Naval District, received June 6, 1918: 

‘‘Mr. Freeman, now in Boston, telephone address 
held in this office, states log of U. S. S. Amalco 
shows that on night of March g U. S. S. Cyclops 
was about five miles distant. March 10 heavy gale 
damaged the Amalco. Capt. C. E. Hilliard, of the 
Amalco, now at 2876 Woodbrook Avenue, Balti- 
more, Md.” 

On April 22 the commander in chief of the Pa- 
cific fleet sent to the Navy Department the follow- 
ing statement of her cargo: 

“U.S. S. Cyclops had by tally of bucket 10,604, 
by draft in feet 10,835 tons manganese, distributed 
number one hold 1,614; number two hold 1,995; 
number three 2,250; number four 1,875; number 
five 2,870. Cargo stowed direct on wood dunnage 
in bottom of hold. Reports differ as to whether 
cargo was trimmed level or left somwhat higher in 
middle. Incline to latter belief. Reported also 
vessel had 4,000 tons of water, mostly in double 
bottoms. So far as ascertained, no steps taken to 
prevent increasing of metacentric height, and this 
must have been considerably increased.” 


LOST LINERS 29 


What caused the catastrophe will probably never 
be known, but with one of her engines reported out 
of order she was not in the best condition to weather 
the storm reported by the Amalco, and it is not un- 
likely that a sudden shifting of her cargo caused her 
to capsize and to be instantly engulfed. 

Exactly one hundred days from the date of her 
sailing the following order was issued: 


“From: Secretary of the Navy. 
“To: Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 
(via Bureau of Navigation). 
“Subject: Re official declaration of death of men 
on board the Navy collier Cyclops. 

“T. The following named enlisted men in the U. 
S. Navy and Marine Corps should be officially de- 
clared dead as of June 14, 1918, deaths having oc- 
curred in the line of duty through no misconduct of 
their own:” 

(Here followed a list of the crew and passengers 
of the Navy collier Cyclops at the time of disap- 
pearance. ) 

“(Signed) FRANKLIN D. ROoosEVELT, 
“Acting.” 

In his annual report for 1918 the Secretary of 
the Navy states “Cyclops was finally given up as 
lost and her name stricken from the registry.” 


we eR TEP 2 


30 DERELICTS 


CAUSES OF THE DESTRUCTION OF LosT SHIPs. 


Since the veil that conceals the catastrophes that 
sent the missing vessels to their doom can never be 
lifted, a wide field of surmise is open. We can only 
guess at the causes of these losses by considering 
what has taken place in the case of vessels which 
have received serious injuries the nature of which 
is known. I quote Mr. Horner in giving the fol- 
lowing as the possible causes which may account for 
the total disappearance of liners: “Capsizing; dam- 
age from within, as explosion, breakdown of ma- 
chinery, or fire; damage from without, as collision 
with an iceberg or with a derelict hulk; and myste- 
rious causes. 

“In reference to explosions, there are two pos- 
sible causes. One is due to the steam boilers, the 
other to coal gas generated in the bunkers. Acci- 
dents from both causes have frequently occurred; 
and though it is not easy to see how the force could 
be sufficiently great to rend a vessel asunder with- 
out affording time for the use of boats or life-saving 
appliances, yet the possibility must be admitted. 
Boilers are always in the bottom of the vessel, and 
it is quite conceivable that one or more boiler ex- 
plosions would rupture the sides and let the water 


LOST LINERS 31 


in in large volumes. In the case of a tug in the har- 
bor at Cardiff this actually happened. And although 
the loss of no big vessel has been traced to this cause, 
it must be admitted that the cause would be suff- 
cient, and the end would be sudden. 

“Explosions of coal gas have occurred; and in 
past years, when less attention was paid to ventila- 
tion than at the present time and when vessels were 
built of wood, it is within the bounds of possibility 
that an explosion might have torn a hole or started 
planks, or might have given rise to a fire of large 
extent. If to this is added the terror of rough 
weather at night, when most of those on board 
would be asleep, the chances of any vestige remain- 
ing would be slender. 

“Breakdowns of machinery alone would hardly 
account for the loss of vessels, but they might do so 
indirectly—first, by leaving a vessel exposed to the 
mercy of rough weather; secondly, by damaging the 
hull and letting the water in. Fractures of pro- 
peller shafts or of propeller blades are not infre- 
quent occurrences. Neither is damage to a rudder. 
It is quite conceivable that a vessel disabled thus 
for several days and encountering exceptionally 
heavy weather, might be overwhelmed by the sheer 
force of the waves. In rough weather the chance 


\, Pay See a 
; ELT ed ee 


32 DERELICTS 


of a disabled vessel being seen in mid-Atlantic if 
she drifts out of the regular routes is very slender. 
_ Steamers for many years past have been entirely 
dependent on their machinery, having no sails to 
fall back on. Only in recent years have the most 
modern and best liners been fitted with twin screws 
and double sets of engines, one of which remains 
available if the other is damaged. A disabled ves- 
sel might, therefore, in the past have suffered badly 
if she drifted out of the trade routes, and might 
have gone down in bad weather. 

‘Damage to machinery may also be sufficient to 
explain the loss of a vessel by causing her to sink 
at once. The City of Paris, of the Inman Line, 
had a big smash in one of her engine rooms on the 
25th of March, 1890. She was coming home in 
fine weather, and when she was near the Irish coast 
the starboard engines broke down in consequence of 
the fracture of the starboard propeller shaft, and 
the sea filled the engine room. Then the massive 
fragments of the wrecked engine hammering against 
the bulkhead smashed that and allowed the water 
to flow into the engine room, completely filling that 
also. In about ten minutes both engine rooms were 
filled with water, adding 3,000 tons to the vessel’s 
weight. Yet she still floated securely, and the outer 


LOST LINERS 33 


skin was not damaged in the least. The water-tight 
compartments kept the City of Paris afloat for three 
days until help came to tow her into Queenstown. 
At Queenstown the openings in the sea connections 
of the vessel were closed with the assistance of 
divers. The water was pumped out of the engine 
rooms, and with her port engines and one screw 
the vessel renewed her voyage and went on safely 
and quietly to Liverpool without harm to anyone. 
In the case of the P. and O. steamer Delhi, which 
stranded on December 12, 1911, off Cape Spartel, 
on the Morocco coast, all the passengers were res- 
cued, including the Duke of Fife and the Princess 
Royal and her daughters. 

“Capsizing is not so likely a cause as some others, 
but it is possible. The Captain capsized, with the 
loss of hundreds of lives. The type was, however, 
very different from that of the liner. But the 
draught of a vessel diminishes toward the close of 
her voyage, as coal is reduced. Some vessels are 
unsteady, and it is conceivable that heavy weather, 
shifting cargo, and insufficient ballast may cause a 
vessel to roll over on her beam ends and capsize. 
There is little doubt that the Wartah capsized by 
reason of top-heaviness. One of her life buoys was 


Sat A baat Cab % 


34 DERELICTS 


reported as being found (December, 1911) at 
Waiuku, New Zealand. 

“But the most probable cause of unexplained 
losses of ships at sea is fire, or it is one, at least, 
which divides probabilities with explosions and ice- 
bergs. Even on the supposition of an explosion, it 
seems almost inexplicable that no trace of a sunken 
vessel should ever afterwards be seen. A missing 
liner or other large vessel is a source of interest to 
all seafaring men, and a keen outlook is kept on the 
track which the vessel was known to have taken. 
Any stray spar or belt or bit of wreckage, there- 
fore, could scarcely escape observation. If a ves- 
sel sinks in mid-ocean some portions float. But if 
a vessel is burned everything would probably be 
consumed, as the vessel would burn to the water’s 
edge. Boats might or might not be launched, ac- 
cording to the rapidity of the rush of the flames, 
the state of the weather, etc. If boats are launched, 
say, a thousand miles from land, the chances of 
rescue or of making land are remote. Fire, there- 
fore, seems adequate enough to account for the loss 
of some of the numerous vessels which have never 
been heard from after leaving port. 

“Considering other possible external causes of the 
total disappearance of liners, heavy weather must 


LOST LINERS 35 


be regarded as a probable reason in some instances. 
Although we do not admit that the roughest weather 
would harm a modern liner, we must remember that 
the older vessels were not as large and powerful 
as those of the present time. The Pacific, for ex- 
ample, which disappeared in 1856, was not nearly 
half the length of the latest vessels. Bulkheads 
had not been brought to the perfect condition of 
security which they have now attained. Not infre- 
quently even now steamers become water-logged 
and reach a sinking condition and their crews are 
happy if rescued. It may well have happened that 
vessels have foundered in mid-ocean in consequence 
of not being able to receive assistance, while the 
sailors could not take to their boats with any hope 
of living in the tempest. 

“Uncharted rocks also cause the loss of vessels, 
as in the case of the Pericles. But her captain was 
a man of resource and no lives were lost. 

“Icebergs are a probable cause for the loss of 
some vessels, especially of liners running to Cana- 
dian ports. The damage to the Arizona may be 
instanced, and many other vessels have had hair- 
breadth escapes. A vessel insufficiently secured by 
bulkheads would stand a poor chance in collision 
with an iceberg. 


36 DERELICTS 


‘“‘Tidal waves are probably accountable for some 
unexplained losses. There are three classes of such 
waves—those due to submarine seismical disturb- 
ances, solitary waves occurring in an otherwise calm 
sea (the origin of which is obscure), and cyclonic 
waves. Each is very dangerous, the first and last 
chiefly in the vicinity of coasts, the second out at 
sea. It was a seismic wave which wrought such 
havoc at Lisbon in 1755 and in Japan in 1896, when 
30,000 people were killed. But the effects of these 
do not usually extend far out to sea, as do those 
of solitary waves. Many records of the latter have 
been given where the decks of vessels have been 
swept of all hands and of all deck erections. In 
1881 all hands were washed off the decks of the 
Rosario. In 1882 the master and half the crew of 
the Loch Torridon were swept off the deck by a 
tidal wave. In 1887 the Umbria was flooded by 
two great waves. In 1894 the Normania was 
struck by a solid wall of water reaching as high as 
the bridge, smashing the cabin on the promenade 
deck, and carrying away the music room and the 
officers’ quarters. The height of tidal waves ranges 
from forty to eighty feet. The Cunarder Etruria 
was struck by a tidal wave on the roth of October, 
1903, when a Canadian gentleman was killed and 


LOST LINERS 3T 


several wounded. ‘The captain’s port bridge and 
stanchions were carried away. Though such waves 
would not greatly endanger the huge modern liners, 
they might have swamped their predecessors by 
breaking through the decks or rushing down hatch- 
ways and skylights. Many vessels have been lost 
by being pooped by vast storm waves, which are not 
as high as many tidal waves. 

“In reference to mysterious agencies, these can be 
dismissed in the present state of knowledge. The 
secrets of the sea have been investigated so well 
that no destructive agent is likely to exist that is 
not known to science. Collision with a whale would 
not damage a liner, though it would be bad for 
the whale. The sea serpent may be dismissed with- 
out comment. The eruption of submarine volca- 
noes may be dangerous to small vessels, but the idea 
of harm from them can not be entertained in con- 
nection with the Atlantic service. So that, after 
all, we are driven back for the solution of these 
disappearances to the same causes which are known 
to have wrecked so many vessels. Among these 
must be included collision with derelict wrecks, which 
have been known to drift about in the Atlantic for 
over a twelvemonth, and unhappily the malicious 
placing of explosives among the cargoes of liners, 
as was done at Bremerhaven in 1875.” 


38 DERELICTS 


During the War between the States, on the 24th 
of August, 1864, the writer was captured after bom- 
bardment for five hours while serving as purser of 
the Confederate steamer Lilian, engaged in running 
the Federal blockade off Wilmington, N. C., and 
made a prisoner of war. Subsequently he escaped to 
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and reported to a prominent 
citizen of that town who was acting as the Confeder- 
ate States representative. He was one of the most 
popular Southern sympathizers; a man of fine pres- 
ence, good business qualifications, courteous and 
amiable to a degree. He was trusted by all, and 
he acted as banker for nearly every Southerner who 
came his way. Halifax was then the center of 
large Confederate interests. Several Confederate 
war steamers were there, among them the Chicka- 
mauga and the Tallahassee. It was the rendezvous 
of blockade runners who had escaped from confine- 
ment or who had been discharged after detention 
by the Federals for several months. K was at- 
tentive to all of them. When the war ended K 
suddenly disappeared with the cash entrusted to him 
by confiding Confederates. 

Several years after, there was a great explosion 


upon the dock where a German mail steamer was 
loading for sea which produced a sensation through- 


LOST LINERS 39 


out the world. An infernal machine intended to 
wreck the liner had prematurely exploded on the 
quay and killed and maimed a large number of per- 
sons, among whom was the shipper, under an as- 
sumed name. This man, mortally wounded, was 
eagerly questioned by the police as to his diabolical 
plans and his accomplices; the only clue they ob- 
tained from his incoherent ravings was an intimation 
that he had been connected in some way with the 
Confederacy, and strangely enough he said some- 
thing about Captain Mafftt and my ship the Lilian. 
The authorities took photographs of him, which 
were imperfect because of the reclining position of 
the dying man. Further investigation after his death 
revealed one of the most fiendish plots in commer- 
cial history; large shipments of bogus goods had 
been made by the liner, and heavily insured by this 
stranger, who had designed a clock machine in- 
tended, it was said, to explode three days after the 
sailing of the steamer, and sink her with all on 
board. For many months the secret service detec- 
tives were working on this case; at length one of 
them came to Wilmington and questioned me about 
the man, whose picture was exhibited. Neither I 
nor any of the pilots at Smithville could identify 
him, although his face was strangely familiar to me. 


40 DERELICTS 


The detective went away, but returned in a few 
weeks and asked me if I had known a man named 
K ““Yes,’’ I at once replied, ‘‘and he was the 
author of this awful crime.” Such proved to be the 
case. It was the old story of depraved associates 
and the downward road to ruin. 


TO THE RESCUE. 


I have said in Chronicles of the Cape Fear River, 
pages 525-527, that a public service which measures 
its eficiency by the number of human lives saved 
from the perils of the sea is to be classed among 
the highest humanities of a great government, and 
that an important arm of great reach and efficiency 
is the admirable service of the U. S. S. Seminole on 
this station. 

The activities of this ship in assisting vessels in 
distress are so continuous as to be classed by her 
efficient commander as all in the day’s work. In 
the four months from December 1, 1912, this ship 
assisted nine vessels in distress at sea and destroyed 
a tenth, the Savannah, a dangerous derelict. 

A typical case is described in the recent rescue in 
a gale of wind three hundred miles off Cape Fear, 
of the British mail and passenger steamer Korona, 
bound from St. Thomas, West Indies, for New 
York, whose boilers broke down, rendering the 
ship helpless without motive power, wallowing in a 
heavy sea which threatened to engulf her. 


41 


42 DERELICTS 


The story of this splendid rescue of a hundred 
human lives is told in the matter-of-fact official re- 
port of Capt. Eugene Blake, jr., of the Seminole, 
and in the letter of thanks to the Secretary of the 
Navy, which follows, with the Acting Secretary’s 
reply: 

“WILMINGTON, N. C., 
“April 2, 1919. 
“Seminole. 
“From: Commanding Officer. 
“To: Commandant, Fifth Naval District. 
“Subject: Report of search and tow of Canadian 
S. S. Korona. 

“rt, At I a.m. on the morning of March 25, 
the following message was transmitted to the Semi- 
nole from the communication officer at district head- 
quarters: 

“March 24, 1919: Korona boilers out of com- 
mission. Needs assistance. Position, latitude 31- 
48 N., longitude 72-12 W., noon, today. na 
Doyle, Master.’ 

“9. The Seminole left the Berkley oil docks at 
7 a. m. the same morning and proceeded at top 
speed for the reported position of the Korona, pass- 
ing through the Gulf Stream from 2 a. m. to 8 a. m. 
of the morning of March 26. 


TO THE RESCUE 43 


“3, At 8 a. m. in the forenoon of March 26, 
intercepted a radiogram from the Porto Rican §S. S. 
Co.’s steamer Coamo that she had the Korona in 
tow, and was proceeding with her to the westward. 
Communication by radio was immediately estab- 
lished with the Coamo, and the position, course, and 
speed ascertained. It was also learned that as the 
Coamo was bound to the southward for Porto Rico, 
she was anxious to be relieved of the tow. Arrange- 
ments were therefore made to meet the Coamo at 
the nearest possible meeting point and at 10 that 
morning the course of both vessels was changed to 
effect this meeting at about 7 that evening. The 
Seminole was run under forced draft in order to 
take advantage of the weather, which was then fa- 
vorable to picking up the disabled vessel. 

“4. At 6.45 p. m. March 26, the Coamo with 
Korona in tow was sighted bearing almost dead 
ahead, and at 8.15 p. m. the Coamo had been re- 
lieved of the tow and the Seminole’s hawser shackled 
into the starboard chain of the Korona. The Ko- 
rona’s master stated that his port of destination was 
New York and requested to be towed to the north- 
ward. Hampton Roads was accordingly selected as 
the port of destination and the course shaped for 
Diamond Shoals buoy. 


44 DERELICTS 


‘‘s. The weather, which up to this time had been 
fine, commenced to show signs of a decided change, 
and the storm warning received the following morn- 
ing, March 27, confirmed the prediction of an ap- 
proaching gale. The wind, however, was from 
southwest to south, and, being favorable, good prog- 
ress was made, at an estimated speed of five or six 
knots from the time the Korona was picked up until 
midnight of March 27. 

“6, By this time the wind had shifted to west 
and was blowing a strong gale, and the Seminole 
was unable to hold up to her course with the tow. 
We were shipping heavy seas at frequent intervals 
and were practically hove to and drifting to lee- 
ward. About 2 a. m. March 28, the wind shifted 
to northwest with slightly increased force, and the 
Seminole was put before the gale with engines turn- 
ing over at dead slow speed, sufficient to keep the 
Korona astern, to act as a drag. ‘This is an un- 
favorable position for the Seminole because she 
rolls to a dangerous angle in a following sea and 
takes much water in the waist, but it was the best 
that could be accomplished under the circumstances. 
The tow semed to be fairly comfortable. 

“7. During the night of March 27 and daylight 
of March 28, the Seminole with tow lost about 60 
miles in a general southeasterly direction. 


TO THE RESCUE 45 


“8. On March 28, picked up an S. O. S. call 
from the steamer Alapaha in our immediate vicinity; 
in fact this steamer reported herself in sight at one 
time during the day, but as she was going to lee- 
ward faster than the Seminole and reported no im- 
mediate danger to her crew, there seemed no reason 
for abandoning one vessel for a doubtful chance of 
picking up the other. It was also learned that the 
Coast Guard cutter Yamacraw was proceeding to 
her assistance. 

“9. The weather moderated slightly during the 
afternoon of March 28, and at 5.40 p. m. the Semi- 
nole with tow was brought up head to wind and 
sea on course northwest, making little if any prog- 
ress. The gale increased again in force from 8 p. 
m. to midnight, and at 3 a. m. March 29 west was 
the best heading that could be held. 

“to. During the worst of the gale this night 
the Seminole’s air pump stopped, and the two ves- 
sels fell off into the trough of the sea and at one 
time were in imminent danger of collision. The 
Seminole being the lighter and naturally in the 
weather position, drifted faster than the Korona, 
but was worked clear by setting the staysails and 
getting a few turns out of the engine at the critical 
moment. As soon as the Seminole was to leeward 


46 DERELICTS 


of the Korona, the engine was stopped and in the 
course of an hour the air pump was repaired. 

“tr. The northwest weather continuing through- 
out March 29 with gale force, it was decided to 
make Wilmington, N. C., and a westerly course was 
maintained throughout the day. 

“t2. About 2 p. m. on March 30 the Korona 
managed to get a small head of steam on one boiler, 
and, after coupling up propeller, which had been 
disconnected on taking up the tow, was able to turn 
her engine over at slow speed. This materially 
lightened the weight of the tow and we were able 
to make way at a speed between four and five knots. 

‘13. Continued at this rate of speed through 
March 30 and 31 with very slowly moderating 
weather, and at 1.40 p. m. on the 31st got on sound- 
ing, sighting Frying Pan Shoal buoy at 5.30 p. m. 
that date. 

“14. During the night of March 31 a mod- 
erate northerly gale developed, but the tow, being 
under the lee of Frying Pan Shoal, was easily man- 
ageable. Speed was regulated to arrive off Cape 
Fear River entrance at daylight, and upon reach- 
ing that point the heavy hawser was unshackled 
and the Korona towed up the river to Wilmington 
with a lighter line and short scope. 


TO THE RESCUE 47 


6c 


15. Arrived off Wilmington at 2.30 p. m., 
where Korona was turned over to her agents, Alex- 
ander Sprunt & Sons Co., the Seminole proceeding 
to her wharf at the custom-house. 

“16. A Coast Guard statistical report of this 
assistance is attached. 
“EUGENE BLAKE, JR.” 


“April 2, 1919. 

“Sir: As agents in Wilmington, N. C., of the 
Quebec Steamship Co., owners of the British 
steamer Korona, as agents of Lloyds, as agents of 
the London Salvage Association, and as offcial 
agents of the British Ministry of Shipping, and in 
behalf of Capt. Austin Doyle, his officers and crew 
and passengers of the British steamer Korona, num- 
bering in all a hundred persons, we desire to ex- 
press to you and to Captain Blake, his officers and 
crew of the U.S. S. Seminole, through you, our 
deep sense of gratefulness for the rescue from im- 
minent peril in a heavy sea of the disabled steamer 
Korona while on her voyage from St. Thomas to 
New York; and for their splendid seamanship in 
averting collision and in towing her under great 
difficulties to this port of refuge. 


48 DERELICTS 


“Tossed upon a raging sea without motive power, 
the Korona was in great danger, and her rescue 
after four days’ continuous assistance adds another 
high record of splendid achievement by the U. S. S. 
Seminole and her devoted men. 

“Permit us, Sir, to thank you cordially in the 
names of all concerned for this added admirable 
and effective example of the highest degree of hu- 
manity and efficiency in an important arm of the 
U. S. Navy. 

‘Yours very respectfully, 
“(Signed) ALEXANDER SpRUNT & Son. 

“To the Honorable JosepHus DANIELS, 

“The Secretary of the Navy, 
“Washington, D, C.” 


‘“"Navy DEPARTMENT, 
“Washington, April 7, 1919. 

“DEAR Sirs: Receipt is acknowledged of your 
letter of April 2, expressing gratitude for the rescue 
of the disabled steamer Korona by the U. S. S. 
Seminole. 

“Your letter of appreciation has been forwarded 
to the commanding officer of the U. S. S. Seminole 
via the Commodore Commandant of the Coast 
Guard Service and the Commandant of the Fifth 


TO THE RESCUE 49 


Naval District, under whose orders the U. S. S. 
Seminole is operating. 

“Tt is a great pleasure to know that the work of 
our salvage and rescue ships is appreciated, and I 
thank you very sincerely for your expression of 
thanks and recognition of the excellent seamanship 
and devotion to duty shown by the captain, officers, 
and crew of the U. S. S. Seminole. 

“Very truly yours, 
“(Signed) FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, 
“Acting Secretary of the Navy. 


“Messrs. ALEXANDER SPRUNT & SON, 
“Wilmington, North Carolina.” 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS. 


For many years the summer visitors on Wrights- 
ville Beach have looked out upon the hurrying swell 
of the broad Atlantic and have felt the fascination 
of the long lines of crested breakers like Neptune's 
racers charging and reforming for the never-ending 
fray; and, when the unresting tide receded, they 
have seen the battered hulks of some of the most 
beautiful ships that ever shaped a course for Wil- 
mington in the days of the Southern Confederacy. 
They represented an epoch that is unique in our 
country’s history, for, in the modern art of war the 
conditions which then prevailed can never occur 
again. 

Some of these wrecks may be visible for a hun- 
dred years to come, and, as nearly every one who 
knew these vessels and of their last voyage has 
passed away, I have thought it might interest some 
of our people, and perhaps future generations, to 
know something of these ships, which I still remem- 
ber distinctly and with whose officers I was more or 
less familiar. So that I have noted from memory 


51 


52 DERELICTS 


and from official records of the Four Years’ War, 
the tragedies which involved the destruction of these 
fine vessels between Topsail Inlet and Lockwood’s 
Folly. These will comprise about thirty ships, 
nearly all of the steamers that were stranded on 
our coast during the war while running for the Cape 
Fear Bar under a heavy bombardment by the Fed- 
eral cruisers. 

Many millions were lost with the destruction of 
these blockade runners, and possibly valuable metal 
might be recovered now, in the present high prices 
for all war supplies. The average cost of one of 
the blockade runners was $150,000 in gold. They 
were mostly built of thick iron, which does not cor- 
rode like steel in salt water. 

The cargoes comprised perishable and imperish- 
able goods, and they were often as valuable as the 
vessels which carried them. When these ships were 
stranded so high upon the beach that neither Fed- 
erals nor Confederates could salve them, the guns 
from both sides were used to destroy them, so that 
neither could profit by a rescue. The bombshells set 
some of the ships on fire, but none were totally de- 
stroyed, because the breakers extinguished the fires 
when the superstructure was burned away, so it is 
very probable that some of them still contain car- 
goes of value. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS d3 


For more than fifty years these melancholy tokens 
of distress have settled in the shifting sands. ‘To- 
gether,” said Mr. George Davis, Attorney-General 
of the Confederacy, “they stand for warning and 
for woe; and together they catch the long majestic 
roll of the Atlantic as it sweeps through a thousand 
miles of grandeur and power from the Arctic to- 
ward the Gulf. It is the playground of billows and 
tempests, the kingdom of silence and awe, disturbed 
by no sound save the seagull’s shriek and the break- 
ers’ roar.” 

It might be interesting to add later an account of 
the ships that were captured at sea, numbering over 
a hundred during the four years of the Cape Fear 
blockade, and to attempt, at the request of my 
friend, Professor deRoulhac Hamilton, of the Uni- 
versity of North Carolina, a short history of this 
remarkable traffic (through the beleaguered city of 
Wilmington) which almost wholly sustained the 
Confederate States commissariat during the last two 
years of the war. 


THE “FANNIE AND JENNIE.” 


The Fannie and Jennie was a side-wheel Confed- 
erate steamer of note, engaged in running the block- 
ade for about a year during the Four Years’ War. 


54 DERELICTS 


She was of good speed, fourteen knots, and was com- 
manded, it is said, by Captain Coxetter, of Charles- 
ton. During the night of February 9, 1864, she 
made the land to the northward of Wrightsville 
Beach, but her pilot, Burriss, was not sure of his 
position, so he anchored the ship and made a land- 
ing in the surf to ascertain his bearings. It having 
been the intention of the captain to make the land 
about two miles north of Fort Fisher, he then pro- 
ceeded down the beach in the darkness. Unhappily, 
however, she stood too close in shore, and grounded 
repeatedly, and at about midnight stranded on a 
shoal a mile or two to the southward of where 


Lumina now stands. At daylight she was discoy- 


ered by the Federal cruiser Florida, commanded by 
Capt. Peirce Crosby, who made me a prisoner of 
war a few months later. Captain Crosby, desiring 
to save the Fannie and Jennie and realize big prize 
money, ran a hawser from his ship to the stranded 
vessel, intending to pull her off into deep water, 
when a Confederate flying battery of Whitworth 
guns of long range, from Fort Fisher, opened fire 
from Masonboro Beach, and with great precision 
cut off one of the Florida’s paddle-wheel arms, broke 
a second one, and cut a rim of the wheel in two; 
also, one of the Confederate shells exploded on 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 55 


board the Florida and came near destroying her. 
The Florida returned the fire, which so alarmed the 
captain and crew of the Fannie and Jennie that some 
of them attempted to reach the beach in boats. In 
this attempt Captain Coxetter and his purser were 
drowned in the breakers, the others gaining the 
shore; the rest of the crew, twenty-five in number, 
who remained on board were made prisoners by 
the Federals. Captain Coxetter had in his keeping 
a very valuable gold jewelled sword, which was to 
be delivered to Gen. R. E. Lee as an expression of 
the admiration of many prominent English sympa- 
thizers. It is still on board this wreck, which lies 
near a line of breakers to the south of Lumina. The 
Fannie and Jennie was loaded with a valuable cargo, 
five days out from Nassau bound to Wilmington, 
when she was stranded. 


Tue “Emity oF Lonpon.” 


During the month of January, 1864, while my 
ship was in St. George, Bermuda, loading for Wil- 
mington, I met frequently an attractive young Vir- 
ginian named Selden, of the Confederate Signal 
Service, who had been detailed as signal officer on 
the fine new steamer Emily of London; and I be- 
came most favorably impressed with this courteous 


~ 


56 DERELICTS 


Christian gentleman and with the superior qualities 
of his beautiful vessel. All of her appointments 
were first-class, and her equipment was superior to 
that of any other blockade runner of the fleet. As 
she lies now in sight of my cottage on Wrightsville 
Beach, visible at every turn of the tide, I often won- 
der what became of Selden, for I never learned his 
fate after the stranding and loss of his fine ship a 
mile or so above the wreck of the Fannie and Jennie, 
on the same night, February 9, 1864. 

The only particulars of the stranding of the 
Emily are embodied in the official report of her dis- 
covery on the beach by Captain Crosby, of the Fed- 
eral cruiser Florida, who found her ashore between 
Masonboro Inlet and Wrightsville Beach after her 
captain and crew had abandoned her. She was then 
set on fire by bombshells from the cruiser Florida, 
a loud explosion on board of the wrecked vessel 
indicating that her cargo was probably partly com- 
posed of explosives for the Confederacy. 

Captain Crosby adds that she was a new and very 
handsome steamer, expensively fitted out. It is pre- 
sumed that the Emily’s captain and crew, numbering 
about fifty men, succeeded in reaching the protection 
of the Confederates. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 57 


‘Par “ELLA: 


An ex-Confederate officer describing Wilmington 
during the blockade, among many interesting things, 
said the following: 

“Owing to the configuration of the coast it was 
almost impossible to effect a close blockade. The 
Cape Fear had two mouths, Old Inlet, at the 
entrance of which Fort Caswell stands, and New 
Inlet, nine miles up the river, where Fort Fisher 
guarded the entrance. From the station off Old 
Inlet, where there were usually from five to six 
blockaders, around to the station off New Inlet, 
a vessel would have to make an arc of some fifty 
miles, owing to the Frying Pan Shoals intervening, 
while from Caswell across to Fisher was only nine 
miles. The plan of the blockade runners coming in 
was to strike the coast thirty or forty miles above 
or below the inlets, and then run along (of course 
at night) until they got under the protection of the 
forts. Sometimes they got in or out by boldly run- 
ning through the blockading fleet, but that was haz- 
ardous; for, if discovered, the ocean was alive with 
rockets and lights, and it was no pleasant thing to 
have shells and balls whistling over you and around 
you. The chances were then that if you were not 


58 DERELICTS 


caught you had, in spite of your speed, to throw a 
good many bales of cotton overboard. 

“The wreck of these blockade runners not infre- 
quently occurred by being stranded or beached, and 
highly diverting skirmishes would occur between the 
blockaders and the garrisons of the forts for the 
possession. The fleet, however, never liked the 
Whitworth guns we had, which shot almost with 
the accuracy of a rifle and with a tremendous range. 
The soldiers generally managed to wreck the 
stranded vessel successfully, though often-times 
with great peril and hardship. It mattered very 
little to the owners then who got her, as they did 
not see much of what was recovered—the soldiers 
thinking they were entitled to what they got at the 
risk of their lives. But a wreck was a most demor- 
alizing affair. The whole garrison generally got 
drunk and stayed drunk for a week or so after- 
wards. Brandy and fine wines flowed like water; 
and it was a month perhaps before matters could 
be got straight. Many accumulated snug little sums 
from the misfortunes of the blockade runners, who 
generally denounced. such pillage as piracy; but it 
could not be helped. 

“We recollect the wrecking of the Ella, off Bald 
Head, in December, 1864. She belonged to the — 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 59 


Bee Company, of Charleston, and was a splendid 
new steamer, on her second trip in, with a large 
and valuable cargo almost entirely owned by private 
parties and speculators. She was chased ashore by 
the blockading fleet, and immediately abandoned by 
her officers and crew, whom nothing would induce 
to go back in order to save her cargo. Yankee 
shells flying over, and through, and around her, had 
no charms for these sons of Neptune. Captain Bad- 
ham, however, and his company, the Edenton (N. 
C.) Battery, with Captain Bahnson, a fighting 
Quaker from Salem, N. C., boarded and wrecked 
her under the fire of the Federals, six shells passing 
through the Ella while they were removing her 
cargo. The consequence was that for a month af- 
terwards nearly the whole garrison was on ‘a tight,’ 
and groceries and dry goods were plentiful in that 
vicinity. ‘The general demoralization produced by 
‘London Dock’ and ‘Hollands’ seemed even to have 
affected that holy man, the chaplain, who said some 
very queer graces at the headquarters mess table.” 


Tue ‘4MopERN GREECE.” 


One of the earliest strandings of friendly steam- 
ers near New Inlet, or Cape Fear main bar, was 
that of the Modern Greece, which was also the most 


60 DERELICTS 


important and interesting. On the morning of the 
27th of June, 1862, at 4.15 o'clock the Modern 
Greece had safely evaded many Federal cruisers 
and was within three miles of Fort Fisher, headed 
for New Inlet, when she was seen by one of the 
Federal blockaders, the Cambridge, which imme- 
diately gave chase and pelted the Modern Greece 
with bombshells. The Cambridge was joined by 
the Federal cruiser Stars and Stripes, which also 
opened fire on the Modern Greece, the latter being 
then run ashore to avoid capture, her crew escaping 
in their boats to the shore. In the meantime Fort 
Fisher was firing at the enemy and also at the Mod- 
ern Greece where she was stranded, in order to pre- 
vent the Federals from hauling her off. The crew 
of the Modern Greece was in great peril during this 
bombardment, as part of her valuable cargo con- 
sisted of a thousand tons of powder for the Con- 
federacy and many guns. ‘The garrison at Fort 
Fisher subsequently landed a large amount of cloth- 
ing and barrels of spirits, and the spirits flowed like 
water for several weeks to the scandal of the fort 
and its defenders. Its potent influence was also felt 
in Wilmington. The Modern Greece was a large 
British propeller of about 1,000 tons net register, 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 61 


one of the largest blockade runners of the war. 
She now lies deep in the sand near Fort Fisher. 


THe “ELIZABETH.” 


One of the regular passenger and freight boats 
which ran between New Orleans and Galveston be- 
fore the war was named Atlantic. She became a 
famous blockade runner under her original name, 
which was changed later to Elizabeth. 

I think she was commanded for several voyages 
by the celebrated Capt. Thomas J. Lockwood of 
Southport and Charleston, whose capable brother- 
in-law, George C. McDougal, was her chief engi- 
neer. Mr. McDougal was a man of fine qualities, 
quiet and retiring in his demeanor. He made in 
various steamers sixty successful runs through the 
blockade. For more than twenty-five years after 
the war I enjoyed the privilege of his intimate con- 
fidences, and I have no hesitation in saying that he 
was to my mind the most remarkable man who had 
been engaged in blockade running. 

On the 19th of September, 1863, the Elizabeth 
sailed from Nassau with a general cargo, mostly 
steel and saltpeter, bound for Wilmington, but 
through some unknown cause ran ashore at Lock- 
wood’s Folly, twelve miles from Fort Caswell. The 


P| ' 


62 DERELICTS 


captain set her on fire and burned her on the 24th, 
the crew escaping to the shore. A man who gave 
his name as Norris or Morris was captured, second 
officer on the Douro, stranded October 12, 1863, and 
he told the commander of the cruiser Nansemond 
that he was a Federal spy and that he was on the 
Elizabeth when she was stranded, and he exhibited 
eight ounces of laudanum and two ounces of chloro- 
form which he said he bought in Nassau to put in 
the whisky and water of the firemen of the Eliza- 
beth and of the Douro so as to cause the capture of 
these vessels, but he did not explain why the Eliza- 
beth went ashore while he was in her. 


Tue “GeorcGIANA McCaw.” 


About the year 1878 there flourished in Wilming- 
ton the Historical and Literary Society, composed of 
about fifty eminent citizens of education and refine- 
ment. In those days our representative men found 
pleasure and relaxation from the drudgery of busi- 
ness or the strain of professional life in the con- 
genial company which assembled for mutual benefit 
once a month in the lecture room of the Presby- 
terian Church on Orange Street. Such men as Doc- 
tor Wilson, father of the President, Doctor deRos- 
sett, Alfred Martin and his son E. S. Martin, 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 63 


who sometimes represented opposing views, Doctor 
Wood, Edward Cantwell, Doctor Morrelle, Alex- 
ander Sprunt, Henry Nutt, and many others, en- 
gaged in learned discussions of subjects suggested 
by the title of this organization. 

On a certain occasion one of the gentlemen 
named, to whose patriotic ardor we were almost 
wholly indebted for the closure of New Inlet and 
the consequent benefit to Cape Fear commerce, rose 
in his usual dignified and impressive manner with 
an air of extraordinary importance and mystery. 
Said he, ‘““Mr. Chairman, I hold in my hands a relic 
of prehistoric times, cast up by the heaving billows 
off Federal Point, formerly known as Confederate 
Point. It is a piece of corroded brass upon which 
is inscribed a legend as yet indecipherable; in all 
probability it long antedates the coming of Co- 
lumbus.” 

A curious group immediately surrounded the 
learned member with expressions of awe and admi- 
ration, and after several speeches had been made, 
by resolution unanimously adopted, Mr. E. S. Mar- 
tin and two other members were entrusted with the 
precious relic for its elucidation by conferring with 
the antedeluvian societies of the North. 


64 DERELICTS 


At the following monthly meeting Mr. Martin 
reported for his committee that their efforts to iden- 
tify the relic through reference to archeological so- 
cieties in the North had been futile, but that a pro- 
fane Scotchman had informed them that the piece 
of metal was no more than a part of the bow or 
stern escutcheon of the stranded blockade runner 
Georgiana McCaw, the palm tree in the center sur- 
rounded by the motto ‘Let Glasgow Flourish,” be- 
ing the coat of arms of Glasgow,* Scotland, the 
home port of the said blockade runner. Alas! it 
was only another case of Bill Stubbs, his mark, but 
we never took the antedeluvians of the North into 
our confidence about it. 

The official report of Acting Master Everson, U. 
S. Navy, commanding the Federal cruiser Victoria, 
dated off Western Bar, Wilmington, N. C., June 2, 
1864, addressed to the senior officer of the block- 
ading squadron, is as follows, with reference to the 
stranding of the Georgiana McCaw: 

‘Sir: I have the honor to report that at 3 a. m., 
of this date, and while drifting in three and a half 
fathoms water, Bald Head Light bearing east, saw 
white water near the beach to the south and west- 


* “Tet Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the Word.” 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 65 


ward, which I supposed to be a steamer. I imme- 
diately steamed ahead at full speed toward the 
beach in order to cut her off. 

“On near approach I discovered her to be a side- 
wheel steamer, steering for the bar. 

‘“As he crossed my bow I rounded to in his wake 
and discharged at him my starboard 8-inch gun, 
loaded with one 5-second shell and stand of grape, 
and kept firing my 30-pound rifle as I continued the 
chase, until 3.30 a. m. she struck on the bar. I im- 
mediately ordered the first and second cutters to 
board and fire her, the former under command of 
Acting Master’s Mate William Moody, the latter 
under charge of Acting Third Assistant Engineer 
Thomas W. Hineline. 

“On arrival on board they found that two boats, 
with their crews, had escaped to the shore. 

“They, however, succeeded in capturing twenty- 
nine of the crew, including the captain and most of 
the officers, together with three passengers. 

“They fired her in several places, and she con- 
tinued to burn until 10 a. m., when she was boarded 
from the shore. At daylight Fort Caswell and the 
adjacent batteries opened fire on our boats with shot 
and shell, which compelled them to return without 
accomplishing her destruction. 


66 DERELICTS 


“She proved to be the Georgiana McCaw of Liv- 
erpool, 700 tons burden, from Nassau, bound to 
Wilmington, N. C. 

“Her cargo consists of about 60 tons provisions, 
etc. 

“T would add, sir, that too much credit can not be 
awarded to Acting Master’s Mate William Moody 
and Acting Third Assistant Engineer Thomas W. 
Hineline for their perseverance and energy dis- 
played, and their cool and gallant conduct while 
under fire of the enemy.” 


Tue “WILp DayReELL.” 


One of the most prominent personalities of the 
blockade era was Thomas E. Taylor, a young Eng- 
lishman, aged twenty-one, who was sent by a wealthy 
Liverpool firm to direct in person the movements 
of steamers which they had bought or builded for 
this dangerous trafic. He began with the old 
steamer Dispatch, which was found to be too slow 
and after one or more voyages was sent back to Eng- 
land. His employers then began building lighter, 
faster boats specially adapted to the purpose, until 
they owned and operated a fleet of fifteen steamers. 
One of them, the Banshee, was the first steel vessel 
that crossed the Atlantic, and Mr. Taylor came in 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 67 


her to Wilmington. His agreeable manners and 
courteous deportment attracted the favorable recog- 
nition of General Whiting and of Colonel Lamb, 
whose personal and official regard was of great 
value to Mr. Taylor. He wrote an interesting book 
after the war from which I take the following inci- 
dents in his eventful career. 

“As soon as the nights were sufficiently dark we 
made a start for Wilmington, unfortunately meet- 
ing very bad weather and strong head winds, which 
delayed us; the result was that instead of making 
out the blockading fleet about midnight, as we had 
intended, when dawn was breaking there were still 
no signs of it. Captain Capper, the chief engineer, 
and I then held a hurried consultation as to what 
we had better do. Capper was for going to sea 
again, and if necessary returning to Nassau; the 
weather was still threatening, our coal supply run- 
ning short, and, with a leaky ship beneath us, the 
engineer and I decided that the lesser risk would be 
to make a dash for it. ‘All right,’ said Capper, 
‘we'll go on, but you'll get d———d well peppered!’ 

“‘We steamed cautiously on, making as little 
smoke as possible, whilst I went to the masthead to 
take a look around; no land was in sight, but I could 
make out in the dull morning light the heavy spars 


68 DERELICTS 


of the blockading flagship right ahead of us, and 
soon after several other masts became visible on 
each side of her. Picking out what appeared to me 
to be the widest space between these, I signaled to 
the deck how to steer, and we went steadily on, de- 
termined when we found we were perceived to make 
a rush for it. No doubt our very audacity helped 
us through, as for some time they took no notice, 
evidently thinking we were one of their own chasers 
returning from sea to take up her station for the 
day. 

“At last, to my great relief, I saw Fort Fisher 
just appearing above the horizon, although we knew 
that the perilous passage between these blockaders 
must be made before we could come under the 
friendly protection of its guns. Suddenly, we be- 
came aware that our enemy had found us out; we 
saw two cruisers steaming toward one another from 
either side of us, so as to intercept us at a given 
point before we could get on the land side of them. 
It now became simply a question of speed and im- 
munity from being sunk by shot. Our little vessel 
quivered under the tremendous pressure with which 
she was being driven through the water. 

“An exciting time followed, as we and our two 
enemies rapidly converged upon one point, others 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 69 


in the distance also hurrying up to assist them. We 
were now near enough to be within range, and the 
cruiser on our port side opened fire; his first shot 
carried away our flagstaff aft on which our ensign 
had just been hoisted; his second tore through our 
forehold, bulging out a plate on the opposite side. 
Bedding and blankets to stop the leak were at once 
requisitioned, and we steamed on full speed under a 
heavy fire from both quarters. Suddenly, puffs of 
smoke from the fort showed us that Colonel Lamb, 
the commandant, was aware of what was going on 
and was firing to protect us; a welcome proof that 
we were drawing within range of his guns and on 
the landward side of our pursuers, who, after giv- 
ing us a few more parting shots, hauled off and 
steamed away from within reach of the shells which 
we were rejoiced to see falling thickly around them. 

“We had passed through a most thrilling experi- 
ence; at one time the cruiser on our port side was 
only a hundred yards away from us with her con- 
sort a hundred and fifty on the starboard, and it 
seemed a miracle that their double fire had not com- 
pletely sunk us. It certainly required all one’s nerve 
to stand upon the paddle box, looking without flinch- 
ing almost into the muzzles of the guns which were 
firing at us; and proud we were of our crew, not a 


“RTM 


70 DERELICTS 


man of whom showed the white feather. Our pilot, 
who showed no lack of courage at the time, became, 
however, terribly excited as we neared the bar, and 
whether it was that the ship steered badly, owing 
to being submerged forward, or from some mistake, 
he ran her ashore whilst going at full speed.” 

On the following voyage Mr. Taylor says: “It 
was a critical time when daylight broke, dull and 
threatening. The captain was at the wheel and I 
at the mast-head (all other hands being employed 
at the pumps, and even baling), when, not four miles 
off, I sighted a cruiser broadside on. She turned 
round as if preparing to give chase, and I thought 
we were done for, as we could not have got more 
than three or four knots an hour out of our crippled 
boat. To my great joy, however, I found our alarm 
was needless, for she evidently had not seen us, and 
instead of heading turned her stern toward us and 
disappeared into a thick bank of clouds. 

“Still we were far from being out of danger, as 
the weather became worse and worse and the wind 
increased in force until it was blowing almost a gale. 
Things began to look as ugly as they could, and 
even Captain Capper lost hope; I shall never forget 
the expression on his face as he came up to me and 
said, in his gruff voice, ‘I say, Mr. Taylor, the beg- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 71 


gar’s going, the beggar’s going,’ pointing vehe- 
mently downwards. ‘What the devil do you mean?’ 
I asked. ‘Why, we are going to lose the ship 
and our lives, too,’ was the answer. It is not possi- 
ble for any one unacquainted with Capper to appre- 
ciate this scene. Sturdy, thickset, nearly as broad 
as he was long, and with the gruffest manner but 
kindest heart—a rough diamond and absolutely 
without fear. With the exception of Steele he was 
the best blockade-running captain we had. 

“In order to save the steamer and our lives we 
decided that desperate remedies must be resorted 
to, so again the unlucky deck cargo had to be sacri- 
ficed. The good effect of this was soon visible; we 
began to gain on the water, and were able, by de- 
grees, to relight our extinguished fires. But the 
struggle continued to be a most severe one, for just 
when we began to obtain a mastery over the water 
the donkey engine broke down, and before we could 
repair it the water increased sensibly, nearly putting 
out our fires again. So the struggle went on for 
sixty hours, when we were truly thankful to steam 
into Nassau Harbor and beach the ship. It was a 
very narrow escape, for within twenty minutes after 
stopping her engines the vessel had sunk to the level 
of the water. 


‘T2 DERELICTS 


“After this I made a trip in a new boat that had 
just been sent out to me, the Wild Dayrell. Anda 
beauty she was, very strong, a perfect sea boat, and 
remarkably well engined. 

“Our voyage in was somewhat exciting, as about 
three o’clock in the afternoon, while making for 
Fort Caswell entrance (not Fort Fisher), we were 
sighted by a Federal cruiser that immediately gave 
chase. We soon found, however, that we had the 
heels of our friend, but it left us the alternative of 
going out to sea or being chased straight into the 
jaws of the blockaders off the bar before darkness 
came on. Under these circumstances what course to 
take was a delicate point to decide, but we solved 
the problem by slowing down just sufficiently to keep 
a few miles ahead of our chaser, hoping that dark- 
ness would come on before we made the fleet or 
they discovered us. Just as twilight was drawing 
in we made them out; cautiously we crept on, feeling 
certain that our enemy astern was rapidly closing 
up on us. Every moment we expected to hear shot 
whistling around us. So plainly could we see the 
sleepy blockaders that it seemed almost impossible 
we should escape their notice. Whether they did 
not expect a runner to make an attempt so early in 
the evening, or whether it was sheer good luck on 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 73 


our part, I know not, but we ran through the lot 
without being seen or without having a shot fired 
at us. 

“Our anxieties, however, were not yet over, as 
our pilot (a new hand) lost his reckoning and put 
us ashore on the bar. Fortunately, the flood tide 
was rising fast, and we refloated, bumping over 
stern first in a most inglorious fashion, and an- 
chored off Fort Caswell before 7 p. m.—a record 
performance. Soon after anchoring we saw a great 
commotion among the blockaders, who were throw- 
ing up rockets and flashing lights, evidently in an- 
swer to signals from the cruiser which had so nearly 
chased us into their midst. 

“When we came out we met with equally good 
luck, as the night was pitch dark and the weather 
very squally. No sooner did we clear the bar than 
we put our helm aport, ran down the coast, and then 
stood boldly straight out to sea without interfer- 
ence; and it was perhaps as well we had such good 
fortune, as before this I had discovered that our 
pilot was of very indifferent caliber, and that cour- 
age was not our captain’s most prominent charac- 
teristic. The poor Wild Dayrell deserved a better 
commander, and consequently a better fate than be- 
fell her. She was lost on her second trip, entirely 


et 


74 DERELICTS 


through the want of pluck on the part of her cap- 
tain, who ran her ashore some miles to the north of 
Fort Fisher; as he said in order to avoid capture— 
to my mind a fatal excuse for any blockade-running 
captain to make. ‘Iwere far better to be sunk by 
shot and escape in the boats if possible. I am quite 
certain that if Steele or Capper had commanded her 
on that trip she would never have been put ashore, 
and the chances are that she would have come 
through all right. 

“T never forgave myself for not unshipping the 
captain on my return to Nassau; my only excuse was 
that there was no good man available to replace 
him, and he was a particular protégé of my chief. 
But such considerations should not have weighed, 
and if I had had the courage of my convictions it 
is probable the Wild Dayrell would have proved as 
successful as any of our steamers.” 

The rest of the story of the loss of the fine 
steamer Wild Dayrell, which was accidentally run 
ashore at Stump Inlet February 1, 1864, is told in 
the official report of Lieut. Commander F. A. Roe 
of the U. S. cruiser Sassacus to Admiral S. P. Lee, 
as follows: 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 75 


U. S. S. “Sassacus.” 
Orr Stump INLET, N. C., February 3, 1864. 

“Sir: I have to report that about 11 o’clock a. 
m., on the morning of the Ist instant, in about the 
parallel of Topsail Inlet, N. C., I discovered a 
steamer close inshore, showing heavy columns of 
smoke. I headed for her at once, and, upon ap- 
proaching, found her ashore at the mouth of Stump 
Inlet. Her crew were busy throwing overboard her 
cargo, a portion of which was scattered along the 
beach. When within reach of my guns, her crew 
and people fled in their boats, when I fired a few 
guns to disperse any enemies that might be hover- 
ing near. I boarded and took possession of the 
steamer, which proved to be the blockade runner 
Wild Dayrell. All the papers which I could find I 
herewith transmit. She was inward bound, two days 
from Nassau. I found her furnaces filled with fuel 
and burning, with the intention of destroying her 
boilers. I hauled her fires and found her machin- 
ery and the vessel in perfect order, with a portion 
of her cargo, consisting of assorted merchandise, 
still on board. I immediately got our hawsers and 
attempted to pull her off, but failed, owing to the 
falling of the tide. I made another attempt at 1 
o'clock a. m. on the morning of the 2d, but parted 


76 DERELICTS 


the hawser. The weather looking bad, I put to sea 
until daylight, when I returned and assumed a new 
position to endeavor to get her off. 

“In the meantime, I commenced to lighten the 
vessel by throwing overboard about 20 tons of coal. 
At high water, about 2 p. m. of the 2d, I com- 
menced tugging at her again, when, after some 
time, the current sweeping me close to the shoal to 
leeward, the Sassacus struck twice lightly. I cut 
the hawser and steamed up to a new position and 
anchored. During this trial, the U. S. S. Florida, 
Commander Crosby, came in and anchored, with 
offers of assistance to us. During this trial the wind 
blew fresh from the southward and westward in 
heavy flaws,. which was the principal cause of my 
failure to get her off. I then steamed up to a new 
position to try her again. On the 3d, while getting 
on board our hawsers to the prize, with the assist- 
ance of the boats of the Florida, my cable suddenly 
parted and I was forced to steam out to keep from 
fouling the Florida, which was anchored near, and 
in so doing parted the hauling lines of the hawsers, 
which were being hauled in by the Florida’s men on 
board the prize. 

“During this last operation the enemy appeared 
and opened fire with musketry upon the Sassacus 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 17 


and the boats coming from the prize. Both vessels 
promptly opened fire and the enemy were driven off. 

“T would here observe that the cable of this ves- 
sel parted unduly, without having been strained by 
any swell or heavy wind, thus losing the anchor and 
about five fathoms of cable. We were anchored in 
two and three-quarter fathoms water; the cable was 
undoubtedly bad. 

“Upon consultation with Commander Crosby we 
decided that it was impossible to get the steamer off, 
and that we must destroy her. Accordingly, I gave 
the signal to the men on board of her to set fire to 
her thoroughly and return aboard, which was done. 
Both vessels then opened fire upon the steamer, and 
she was riddled at about the water line with raking 
shots from the Sassacus. No attempt was made to 
save her cargo, as I deemed it impracticable to do 
so. Not one-half of her cargo had been thrown 
overboard and the rest, which I deemed very valu- 
able merchandise, was consumed with the vessel. 
Valuable time would have been lost in the effort, 
and to pillage her would have demoralized my men 
for healthy action in some future similar service. 
Having effected this duty, I put to sea at about 
eight o’clock of the evening of the 3d. 


78 DERELICTS 


“T transmit herewith an appraisement of value of 
the steamer and cargo, made by a board ordered 
upon that service. _ 

“T have the honor to be, Sir, 

“Very respectfully, 
“Your obedient servant, 
“F. A. Rog, 
“Lieutenant Commander. 

“Acting Rear Admiral S. P. Leg, 

“Comdg. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 
Hampton Roads.” 


THe ‘(GENERAL BEAUREGARD.” 


Of the steamer General Beauregard I have but 
little information, although I remember her as a 
valuable ship. The Richmond Whig of December 
16, 1863, states that according to the Wilmington 
Journal this steamer was chased ashore by the Fed- 
eral blockaders on the night of the 11th instant 
some distance above Fort Fisher, near Battery Gat- 
lin, and that she had been set on fire. 

Captain Ridgely of the Federal cruiser Shenan- 
doah (which chased my ship the Lilian for five 
hours later) reported to Admiral S. P. Lee, Decem- 
ber 16, 1863, that on the evening of the 11th of 
December, 1863, between seven and eight o'clock, 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 79 


the cruiser Howquah saw the General Beauregard 
coming down the beach heading for Cape Fear or 
New Inlet. He gave chase and opened fire on him. 
The Beauregard being impeded by a heavy sea and 
finding escape impossible, ran ashore at the point 
already described. 

The next morning the cruiser, accompanied by 
the Tuscarora, tried to board the Beauregard, but 
they were attacked by two Confederate batteries, 
one to the north and another to the south of the 
stranded vessel, and driven off, the Tuscarora being 
struck by a Confederate shell in her quarter. The 
Beauregard is still conspicuous on Carolina Beach 
at all stages of the tide, showing her battered hull 
high above the level of the sea. 


TuHeE ‘“‘Dovuro.”’ 


In the spring of 1863 this fine steamer was cap- 
tured at sea by the Federal cruisers, sent to a port 
of adjudication in the North, condemned and sold 
at auction, taken to the British Provinces (Halifax, 
I think) and there purchased, it was said, by the 
Confederate Government. At all events she was 
fitted out for the same service and in a few weeks 
reappeared at Nassau, where I saw her as a Con- 
federate steamer under the Confederate flag. On 


80 DERELICTS 


‘the night of the 11th of October, 1863, the Douro 

attempted to run the blockade at New Inlet, loaded 
with a valuable cargo of 550 bales of cotton, 279 
boxes of tobacco, 20 tierces of tobacco, and a quan- 
tity of turpentine and rosin, belonging to the Con- 
federate Government. At 8.30 of the same night 
she eluded the Federal fleet and was running up the 
beach towards Masonboro in two and one-half 
fathoms of water, when she was pursued by the 
cruiser NVansemond, which tried to get between the 
Douro and the beach, but failed because of shoal 
water. Had the Douro kept on her course she 
would have escaped, but, taking a panic, she re- 
versed her course, and headed back for the bar at 
New Inlet, was then intercepted by the Nansemond 
and run ashore, instead of facing the gun fire of the 
fleet with a chance of getting under Fort Fisher’s 
protection. The captain and most of the crew es- 
caped in the Douro’s boats, but five, remaining on 
board, were captured by the cruiser Nansemond. It 
was said at the time that this fine ship (a propeller) 
was owned in Wilmington and that her cargo was 
for the Confederate Government. She now lies 
just above the Hebe between Fort Fisher and 
Masonboro Inlet. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 81 


Tue “DEE.” 

Two of the finest blockade runners, sister ships, 
called the Don and the Dee, met at last with dis- 
aster. The Don, after running the gauntlet some ten 
or twelve times, was captured at sea. She had been 
commanded from her first voyage to the one before 
the last by Captain Roberts, so-called, really Cap- 
tain Hobart, of the Royal British Navy, who later 
became Hobart Pasha, admiral in chief of the 
Turkish Navy. He was a son of the Earl of Buck- 
inghamshire. The Dee was commanded for three 
successful voyages by Capt. George H. Bier, for- 
merly a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. At 8 o’clock 
a. m. February 6, 1864, the U. S. S. Cambridge on 
the blockade off New Inlet discovered the Dee from 
Hamilton, Bermuda, loaded with pig lead, bacon, 
and military stores, bound for Wilmington, ashore 
and on fire about a mile to the southward of Ma- 
sonboro Inlet. 

The Cambridge at once boarded the stranded 
vessel and attempted to salve her, but the fire was 
too hot and the ship too deeply embedded in the sand 
to haul her off into deep water. She was accord- 
ingly bombarded and abandoned. The Dee’s crew 
escaped to the shore, with the exception of seven 
men, who fell into the hands of the Federals. It is 


; 


82 DERELICTS 


not known whether the Dee ran ashore from acci- 
dent or design. 


STEAMER ‘‘NUTFIELD.” 


I learn from official reports that after Captain 
Roe of the U. S. S. Sassacus had practically de- 
stroyed the Wild Dayrell by gun fire he stood out 
to sea and regained his position in the outer line of 
cruisers, known as the Bermuda line or track, and 
that at daylight of the 4th of February, 1864, he 
discovered a blockade runner to the northward, 
which proved to be the fine new iron steamer Nut- 
field of 750 tons (unusually large size), from Ber- 
muda bound for Wilmington. The Sassacus, being 
the faster ship, increased her speed to thirteen knots, 
and at noon succeeded in getting in range of the 
Nutfield with her 100-pounder rifle guns, which 
did such execution that the hard pressed Nutfield 
changed her course, heading for the land, and ran 
ashore at New River Inlet. The Nutfield’s crew 
set her on fire and fled precipitately in their boats 
for the beach. One of the Nutfield’s boats capsized 
in the surf and the Federals tried to rescue the crew 
but only succeeded in saving the purser, the others 
being supposedly drowned. Efforts were made by 
the Sassacus for two days to haul off the Nuffield, 
which was a very valuable prize, being loaded with 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 83 


an assorted cargo of merchandise, drugs, munitions 
of war, Enfield rifles, a battery of eight very valu- 
able Whitworth guns, and a quantity of pig lead; 
the battery and the lead were thrown overboard 
during the chase. The Nutfield had escaped from 
the blockading fleet at New Inlet the night before 
and was off New River intending to try the Cape 
Fear the following night, but most unfortunately 
fell in with the Sassacus, a fast cruiser, during the 
day. A large part of her valuable cargo was taken 
out of her by the Federals. 


Tue ‘“‘BANSHEE’s” NArRRow EscAPE.* 


Mr. Thomas E. Taylor was agent for the block- 
ade runner Banshee, and I quote his narrative: 
“One very dark night (I think it was either on 
the fourth or fifth trip) we made the land about 
twelve miles above Fort Fisher, and were creeping 
quietly down as usual, when all at once we made a 
cruiser out, lying on our port bow, and slowly mov- 
ing about 200 yards from the shore. It was a 
question of going inside or outside her; if we went 
outside she was certain to see us, and would chase 
us into the very jaws of the fleet. As we had very 
little steam up we chose the former alternative, hop- 


*The Banshee and a few other blockade runners mentioned in 
this book as escaping capture were later either captured or stranded. 


84 DERELICTS 


ing to pass unobserved between the cruiser and the 
shore, aided by the dark background of the latter. 
It was an exciting moment; we got almost abreast 
of her, as we thought, unobserved, and success 
seemed within our grasp, till we saw her move in 
toward us and heard her hail as we came on, ‘Stop 
that steamer or I will sink you!’ 

“Old Steele growled out that we hadn’t time to 
stop, and shouted down the engine-room tube to 
Erskine to pile on the coal, as concealment was no 
longer any use. Our friend, which we afterwards 
found out was the Niphon, opened fire as fast as 
she could and sheered close into us, so close that her 
boarders were called away twice, and a slanging 
match went on between us, like that sometimes to 
be heard between two penny steamboat captains on 
the Thames. She closed the dispute by shooting 
away our foremast, exploding a shell in our bunk- 
ers, and, when we began to leave her astern, by 
treating us to grape and canister. It was a miracle 
that no one was killed, but the crew were all lying 
flat on the deck, except the steersman; and at one 
time I fear he did the same, for as Pilot Burroughs 
suddenly cried, ‘My God, Mr. Taylor, look there!’ 
I saw our boat heading right into the surf, so, jump- 
ing from the bridge, I ran aft and found the helms- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 85 


man on his stomach. I rushed at the wheel and got 
two or three spokes out of it, which hauled her head 
off land, but it was a close shave. 

“Two miles farther we picked up another cruiser, 
which tried to treat us in a similar manner, but as 
we had plenty of steam we soon left her. A little 
farther we came across a large side-wheel boat, 
which tried to run us down, missing us only by a 
few yards; after that we were unmolested and ar- 
rived in safe, warmly congratulated by Lamb, who 
thought from the violent cannonade that we must 
certainly be sunk. 

“Not more than one man out of a hundred would 
have brought a boat through as Steele did that 
night—the other ninety-nine would have run her 
ashore.” 


THe “VENUus.” 


The official report of Lieutenant Lamson, U. S. 
steamer Nansemond, off New Inlet, October 21, 
1863, says, “I have the honor to report the capture 
and entire destruction of the blockade runner Venus, 
from Nassau to Wilmington with a cargo of lead, 
drugs, dry goods, bacon, and coffee. 

“This morning at 12.30 she attempted to run the 
blockade, but was discovered by this vessel, and 


86 DERELICTS 


after a short chase overhauled. When abeam, I 
opened fire on her, one shot striking her foremast, 
another exploding in her wardroom, a third passing 
through forward and killing one man, and a fourth, 
striking under the guard near the water line, 
knocked in an iron plate, causing her to make water 
fast. She was run ashore. We boarded her at 
once, capturing her captain and twenty-two of her 
oficers and crew. The U. S. S. Niphon, Acting 
Master J. B. Breck commanding, which was lying 
near where she went ashore, came immediately to 
my assistance. I ran a g-inch hawser to the Venus, 
and Captain Breck sent a 7-inch hawser to the 
Nansemond’s bow, but all our efforts were unavail- 
ing, as the tide had turned ebb and she was going at 
least 14 knots an hour when she went ashore. Find- 
ing it impossible to move her, I ordered her to be 
set on fire, which was done in three places by Acting 
Ensigns Porter and Henderson, of this vessel. Our 
boats were for some time exposed to a sharp fire of 
musketry from the beach, and the vessel was within 
range of one of the batteries. We had just com- 
menced shelling her machinery when another vessel 
was seen off shore, and by the light of the burning 
steamer I was able to give her one shot and started 
in pursuit, but it was so cloudy and hazy that we lost 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 87 


sight of her almost immediately. I ran east at the 
rate of fourteen knots till 7 o’clock, but did not get 
sight of her again, and ran back, making the land 
on the northward. 

“In the meantime, Captain Breck, with the assist- 
ance of the Jron Age, Lieut. Commander Stone, had 
completed the destruction of the Venus, her boilers 
having been blown up and her hull riddled with shell. 

“I have to express my thanks to Captain Breck 
for the prompt assistance rendered me by sending 
his boats to assist in carrying my heavy hawser to 
the Nansemond’s bows. His boats then reported 
to Acting Ensign J. H. Porter, who was in charge 
of the Venus. The fire forward not burning well 
as it was expected, he sent a boat on board in the 
morning and rekindled it.” 

The Venus was 265 feet long and 1,000 tons 
measurement, and is represented by her captain and 
officers to have been one of the finest and fastest 
vessels engaged in running the blockade. She had 
the finest engines of any vessel in this trade and was 
sheathed completely over with iron. She drew eight 
feet of water, and when bound out last, crossed the 
bar at low water with over 600 bales of cotton on 
board. The wrecks of the Hebe, Douro, and Venus 
are within a short distance of each other. 


88 DERELICTS 


A private notebook was found by the Federal 
boarding party in the effects of the captain of the 
Venus, in which a list of blockade runners engaged 
in the year 1863 was entered as follows, a total of 
75 steamers, of which 34 were captured or de- 
stroyed, but this list was not complete, as a hun- 
dred at least were engaged during that period. 


VESSELS ENGAGED IN RUNNING THE BLOCKADE 


IN 1863. 
(Those marked C had been captured or destroyed.) 
Nina (C) Gladiator 
Leopard (C) Hebe (C) 
Antonica Venus (C) 
Thistle (C) Juno (C) 
Douro (C) Princess Royal (C) 


Calypso (C) 
Granite City (C) 


Cronstadt (C) 
Phantom (C) 


Flora Lord Clyde 
Ruby (C) Dolphin 
Eagle (C) Hansa 
Havelock Ella 

Douglas Spaulding (C) 
Annie Childs (C) Mary Ann 
Wave Queen (C) Mail (C) 
Giraffe (C) Spunkie 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 


Cornubia (C) 
Nicolai I (C) 
St. John (C) 
Hero* 

Gertrude (C) 
Britannia (C) 
Emma (C) 
Georgiana (C) 
J.P. Hughes 
Banshee 

Alice (Mobile) 
Aries (St. Thomas) (C) 
Neptune (C) 
Norseman (C) 
Merrimac (C) 
Kate (C) 

Orion 

Siriens (Sirius?) 
Atlantic 
Eugénie 

Cuba (Mobile) (C) 
Raccoon 


Arabian (C) 


Jupiter 
Gibraltar 
Boston 
Juno Il 
Scotia 
Flora II 
Herald 
Elizabeth (C) 
R. E. Lee 
Beauregard 
Sumter 
Corsica 
Bendigo 
Diamond 


Margaret and Jessie 


Don 

Pet 

Charleston 

Rouen 

Hero II 

Fanny 

Stonewall Jackson 


Total, 75; captured and destroyed, 34. 


*Returned to England. 


89 


90 DERELICTS 


THe “HEBE.” 

Between the 15th of August and the 21st of Oc- 
tober, 1863, the Federal fleet known as the ‘‘North 
American Blockading Squadron” drove ashore five 
blockade runners between New Inlet and Mason- 
boro—the Arabian inside the bar of New Inlet, 
which became an obstruction to our ships trying to 
pass her; the beautiful steamer Hebe near Mason- 
boro Inlet, the Phaniom, the Douro, and the Venus 
near each other off Masonboro Sound. 

As her classical name implies, the Hebe was a 
fine example of marine architecture. She was loaded 
with a full cargo of drugs, coffee, clothing, and pro- 
visions, and although she was a fast ship of 14 
knots, she seems to have made a bad landfall on 
the morning of the 18th of August, 1863, and while 
she was heading for New Inlet, distant about eight 
miles, she was intercepted by the Federal gunboat 
Niphon, when she up helm and ran ashore, the crew 
escaping in boats. 

When the Federals attempted to haul the Hebe 
off the beach after she had run ashore, they met 
with formidable resistance by the Confederates. 
Owing to a heavy sea the Niphon’s boat was driven 
ashore and the Federals were attacked by a troop 
of Confederate cavalry and all of them were cap- 


nid 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 91 


tured. A Confederate force of riflemen, supported 
by a battery of Whitworth guns, also attacked the 
cruiser Niphon from the shore and drove the block- 
ader away from the Hebe, but not before the Con- 
federate had destroyed another Federal boat load 
of the enemy which attempted to land. The Niphon 
and the Shokokon, the latter under the command of 
the celebrated Lieut. W. B. Cushing, then bom- 
barded the Hebe and set her on fire. 

On August 24, 1863, General Whiting, in com- 
mand of the Confederate forces at Wilmington 
headquarters, sent to the Secretary of War, Mr. 
Seddon, the following account of the Hebe disaster: 


“HEADQUARTERS, 
“Wilmington, August 24, 1863. 

“SIR: * * * Yesterday the enemy took a 
fancy to destroy what remained of the wreck of the 
Hebe, a Crenshaw steamer run ashore some days 
ago, and from which a company of the garrison of 
Fort Fisher was engaged in saving property. The 
steam frigate Minnesota and five other gunboats 
approached the beach, and, under a terrific fire, at- 
tempted to land, but were gallantly repulsed by Cap- 
tain Munn, with a Whitworth and two small rifle 
guns of short range. The site was about nine miles 


92 DERELICTS 


from Fisher, on the narrow and low beach between 
the sounds and the ocean, and completely under the 
fire of the enormous batteries of the enemy. A por- 
tion of the squadron, steaming farther up the beaeh, 
effected a landing some two miles off in largely su- 
perior force, and came down upon Captain Munn, 
still gallantly fighting his little guns against the 
Minnesota, they being moved by hand, and, having 
fired his last round, the Whitworths disabled, one 
gunner killed, a lieutenant and four men wounded, 
Captain Munn and his small party were compelled 
to fall back under a heavy enfilade fire toward Fort 
Fisher, with the loss of his guns. . 

“This took place about nine miles from Fort 
Fisher and about the same distance from the city. 
The narrow beach, separated from the mainland by 
the sounds, gives every facility to the enemy, and 
secures them from us who are without boats or 
means of getting at them. The Fiftieth (North 
Carolina) Regiment—the only one I have—was off 
at a distance, called by a landing made by the enemy 
at Topsail, in which they burned, the night before, 
a schooner, a salt work, and took two artillerymen 
prisoners. 

“These little affairs, however, are only mentioned 
in illustration. This is the first time they have 
landed; but what they have done once they can do 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 93 


again and doubtless will. ‘There is no day scarcely 
until the winter gales set in but what they could 
put 5,000 men on the beach; they can get them from 
New Berne and Beaufort before I could know it. I 
only say if they do they can get either Fort Fisher 
or the towns, as they elect, if they set about it at 
once. 

“The efforts of the enemy to stop our steamers 
are increasing. Their force is largely increased. I 
have met with a serious and heavy loss in that Whit- 
worth, a gun that in the hands of the indefatigable 
Lamb has saved dozens of vessels and millions of 
money to the Confederate States. I beg that a 
couple of the Whitworth guns originally saved by 
him from the Modern Greece may be sent here at 
once. Their long range, five or six miles, makes 
them most suitable for a seaboard position. Could 
I get them with horses we could save many a vessel 
that will now be lost to us. But chiefly in this letter 
I beg of you, if you concur in my views, to lay the 
matter of the necessity of increasing the force here 
before the President. 

“Very respectfully, 
“W. H. C. WuirTIne, 


“Major General. 
“Hon. JAmes A. SEDDON, 


“Secretary War, Richmond.” 


94 DERELICTS 


A Port or REFUGE. 

The natural advantages of Wilmington at the 
time of the War between the States made it an ideal 
port for blockade runners, there being two entrances 
to the river—New Inlet on the north and Western 
or Main Bar on the south of Cape Fear. 

The slope of our beach is very gradual to deep 
water. ‘The soundings along the coast are regular, 
and the floor of the ocean is remarkably even. A 
steamer hard pressed by the enemy could run along 
the outer edge of the breakers without great risk 
of grounding; the pursuer, being usually of deeper 
draft, was obliged to keep farther off shore. 


THE “LILIAN.” 

The Confederate steamer Lilian, of which I was 
then purser, was chased for nearly a hundred miles 
from Cape Lookout by the U. S. steamer Shenan- 
doah, which sailed a parallel course within half a 
mile of her and forced the Lilian at times into the 
breakers. This was probably the narrowest escape 
ever made by a blockade runner in a chase. The 
Shenandoah began firing her broadside guns at three 
o’clock in the afternoon, her gunners and the com- 
manding officers of the batteries being distinctly 
visible to the Lilian’s crew. A heavy sea was run- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 95 


ning, which deflected the aim of the man-of-war, and 
this alone saved the Lilian from destruction. A 
furious bombardment by the Shenandoah, aggra- 
vated by the display of the Lilian’s Confederate 
flag, was continued until nightfall, when, by a clever 
ruse, the Lilian, guided by the flash of her pursuer’s 
guns, stopped for a few minutes; then, putting her 
helm hard over, ran across the wake of the warship 
straight out to sea, and, on the following morning, 
passed the fleet off Fort Fisher in such a crippled 
condition that several weeks were spent in Wilming- 
ton for repairs. 


THe “Lynx” AND HER PInor. 


He is now the Rev. James William Craig,* 
Methodist preacher, but I like to think of him as 
Jim Billy, the Cape Fear pilot of war times, on the 
bridge of the swift Confederate blockade runner 
Lynx, commanded by the intrepid Captain Reed, as 
she races through the blackness of night on her 
course west nor’west, straight and true for the Fed- 
eral fleet off New Inlet, in utter silence, the salt 
spray of the sea smiting the faces of the watches as 
they gaze ahead for the first sign of imminent 
danger. 


*Mr. Craig has since died. 


96 DERELICTS 


Soon there is added to the incessant noise of wind 
and waves the ominous roar of the breakers, as the 
surf complains to the shore, and the deep sea lead 
gives warning of shoaling water. ‘“Half-speed”’ is 
muttered through the speaking tube; a hurried par- 
ley; a recognized landfall, for Reed is a fine navi- 
gator, and “Are you ready to take her, Pilot?” 
“Ready, sir,’ comes from Jim Billy in the darkness. 
Then the whispered orders through the tube: “Slow 
down,” as there looms ahead the first of the dread 
monsters of destruction; “Starboard,” “Steady.” 
And the little ship glides past like a phantom, un- 
seen as yet. Then “Port,” “Port,” “Hague pore 
in quick succession, as she almost touches the second 
cruiser. She is now in the thick of the blockading 
squadron; and suddenly, out of the darkness, close 
aboard, comes the hoarse hail, “‘Heave to, or I'll 
sink you,” followed by a blinding glare of rockets 
and the roar of heavy guns. The devoted little 
Confederate is now naked to her enemies, as the 
glare of rockets and Drummond lights from many 
men-of-war illuminate the chase. Under a pitiless 
hail of shot and shell from every quarter, she bounds 
forward full speed ahead, every joint and rivet 
straining, while Jim Billy dodges her in and out 
through a maze of smoke and flame and bursting 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 97 


shells. The range of Fort Fisher’s guns is yet a 
mile away. Will she make it? Onward speeds the 
little ship, for neither Reed nor Jim Billy has a 
thought of surrender. A shell explodes above them, 
smashing the wheelhouse; another shell tears away 
the starboard paddle box; and, as she flies like light- 
ning past the nearest cruiser, a sullen roar from 
Colonel Lamb’s artillery warns her pursuers that 
they have reached their limitations, and in a few 
minutes the gallant little ship crosses the bar and 
anchors under the Confederate guns. The captain 
and his trusty pilot shake hands and go below, “‘to 
take the oath,” as Reed described it—for the strain 
must be relaxed by sleep or stimulation. ‘A close 
shave, Jim,” was all the captain said. ‘It was, sir, 
for a fact,” was the equally laconic answer. 


THE ‘‘SRANGER” AND THE “VESTA.” 


These two fine ships were stranded on our coast 
upon their first voyage and as I had no personal 
knowledge of either of them, I have copied in full 
the Federal official reports, and a letter dated Wil- 
mington, N. C., January 27, 1864, by Lieutenant 
Gift of the Confederate Navy, who was in command 
of the Ranger. 


98 DERELICTS 


“U.S. FLacsuip ‘MINNESOTA,’ 
“Orr Lockwoop’s FoLty INLET, 
“January 11, 1864. 

“Sir: At daylight this morning a steamer was 
seen beached and burning one mile west of this inlet. 
Mr. O’Connor, from this ship, boarded her with the 
loss of one man, shot under the fire from the 
enemy’s sharp shooters occupying rifle pits on the 
sand hills, which were high and near, and got her 
log book, from which it appears that she is the 
Ranger; that she left Newcastle [England] Novem- 
ber 11, 1863, for Bermuda, where, after touching 
at Teneriffe, she arrived on the 8th of December; 
that she sailed from Bermuda January 6, 1864, 
made our coast January 10, about five miles north- 
east of Murrell’s Inlet, and landed her passengers. 
The next morning at daylight, intercepted by this 
ship, the Daylight, Governor Buckingham, and Aries, 
in her approach to Western Bar, she was beached 
and fired by her crew, as above mentioned. The at- 
tempts of the Governor Buckingham, aided by the 
Daylight and Aries, to extinguish the fire and haul 
the Ranger off were frustrated by the enemy’s sharp- 
shooters, whose fire completely commanded her 
decks. This ship, drawing about twenty-four feet, 
was taken in four and one-half fathoms of water in 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 99 


front of the wreck, and the other vessels stationed 
to cross fire on the riflemen on the sand hills opened 
a deliberate fire with a view to dislodge the enemy 
and allow an attempt to haul off the Ranger at high 
water at night. Meanwhile, the Ranger was burn- 
ing freely forward and the commanding officers of 
the Governor Buckingham and Daylight, who had a 
good view of her situation, thinking that it was not 
practicable to get her off, she was also fired into, 
which, as her hatches were closed, had the effect of 
letting the air in, when the fire burned freely aft 
and doubtless burned the Ranger out completely. 
Meanwhile, black smoke was rising in the direction 
of Shallotte Inlet, and the Aries, withdrawn last 
night from her station there, was ordered to chase. 
She soon returned, and Acting Volunteer Lieutenant 
Devens reported a fine - looking double - propeller 
blockade runner, resembling the Ceres, beached and 
on fire between Tubb’s and Little River Inlets, and 
that the enemy’s sharpshooters prevented his boats 
from boarding her. This was probably the same 
steamer that was chased the previous evening by the 
Quaker City, Tuscarora, and Keystone State, and 
escaping from them made the western shore, where, 
communicating and learning of the presence of the 
blockaders in force, and perhaps being short of coal, 


100 DERELICTS 


was beached by her crew and fired rather than be 
captured. 

“The Department will perceive that this is the 
twenty-second steamer lost by the rebels and the 
blockade runners attempting to violate the blockade 
of Wilmington within the last six months, an aver- 
age of nearly one steamer every eight days. These 
losses must greatly lessen the means of the rebel 
authorities to export cotton, obtain supplies, and 
sustain their credit, and thus dispirit and weaken 
them very much. 

“TI have the honor to be, Sir, 

“Very respectfully yours, 
“S. Ps Lee; 
“Acting Rear Admiral, 
“Comdg. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 


“Hon. GIDEON WELLES, 


“Secretary of the Navy, 
“Washington, D. C.” 


“U. S. S: mie 
“Orr LitTLe RIVER, 
“January 12, 1864. 
“Str: I would most respectfully report that the — 
steamer stranded between Tubb’s Inlet and Little 
River is the blockade runner Vesta. Boarded her 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 101 


this a. m.; made a hawser fast to her, but on exam- 
ining her found her whole starboard side opened 
and several of the plates split; took two anchors 
from her, which was all we could save. 

“The Vesta was exactly like the Ceres. 

“T left her a complete wreck, with five feet of 
water in her. Her boats lay on the beach badly 
stove. 

“Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

“EDWARD F. DEVENs, 

“Acting Volunteer Lieutenant, Commanding.” 


“WILMINGTON, N. C., January 27, 1864. 

“My Dear Sir: In Bermuda I took command 
of a splendid merchant steamer, called the Ranger, 
for the passage to Wilmington. I had very heavy 
weather and no observation for the first three days 
out. On the fourth got sights which put me at noon 
eighty miles southeast from lightship off Frying Pan 
Shoals. I went ahead full speed in heavy sea to 
sight the light early in the night, but the Yankees 
had put it out, and fearing the drift of the Gulf, I 
determined to run inshore and anchor during the 
next day (10th instant) and ascertain my position 
accurately, which I did, and landed my passengers 
and baggage. On the morning of the 11th, at 12.25 


102 DERELICTS 


a. m., I got underway and ran along the coast for 
the bar near Fort Caswell. When eight miles from 
the fort I made the Minnesota about one mile off, 
and whilst observing her motions the pilot (who had 
charge of the ship) suddenly sheered her inshore, 
and in an instant she was in the breakers. I made 
every effort to get her off, but unavailingly, so you 
see a couple of turns of a wheel in the hands of a 
timid man lost a fine ship and a valuable cargo. She 
was destroyed. I was loaded for Government. 
“Your obedient servant, 
“GEORGE W. GIFT.” 


Tue “SPUNKIE.” 


Many blockade runners were given corresponding 
names, Owl, Bat, Badger, Phantom, Lynx, but none 
seemed to be more appropriate than that given to a 
little toy steamer from the Clyde named Spunkie. 
She was not fast but she managed to make several 
successful runs. When I saw her in Nassau I could 
scarcely believe that this little cockleshell of a boat 
had crossed the North Atlantic and had run through 
the blockading fleet. The commander of the Fed- 
eral cruiser Quaker City reported to Admiral Lee 
February 13, 1864, that he had discovered the 
Spunkie ashore at daylight on the 9th on the beach 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 103 


a short distance west of Fort Caswell, but he could 
not determine whether she was attempting to run in 
or run out. Two tugs belonging to the blockading 
fleet made repeated but ineffectual efforts to float 
the Spunkie and she still lies near Fort Caswell. As 
the Spunkie was loaded with blankets, shoes, and 
provisions for the Confederate soldiers, there is no 
doubt she was trying to come into the river by the 
Western Bar when she ran ashore. 


THe “PHANTOM.” 


This was a new Confederate steamer built abroad 
on the most approved lines for the Confederate Gov- 
ernment. She was a handsome iron propeller of 
about 500 tons, camouflaged, as were all blockade 
runners, to decrease her visibility. The usual method 
was to paint the hull and smoke funnels a grayish 
green to correspond with the sea and sky and the 
coast-line sand dunes, which often made them in- 
visible even at close range. There were two Fed- 
eral cruisers most dreaded by the blockade runners 
because of their great speed: the Connecticut and 
the Fort Jackson. The former made many prizes. 
At daylight, the morning of September 23, 1863, 
when about fifty miles east by north of New Inlet, 
the Phantom was discovered by the Connecticut 


Kee 


104 DERELICTS 


standing to the eastward. The Phantom was bound 
from Bermuda for Wilmington with a very valuable 
cargo of Confederate arms, medicine, and general 
stores. She had evidently made a very bad landfall 
too far to the northward and eastward at daylight 
and was running away from the land until darkness 
would help her into Cape Fear River, when she 
would face the fleet again. But the Connecticut 
gave chase at her top speed and after four hours’ 
vain effort to escape, the Phantom suddenly hauled 
in and ran ashore near Rich Inlet, where she still 
lies. The crew escaped in their own boats, after 
setting the Phantom on fire. The Federals at- 
tempted to put out the fire and salve the Phantom, 
but failed to do so. 


THE “Dare.” 


This steamer was built abroad in 1863 for the. 
Confederate Government. At daybreak on the 
morning of the 7th of January, 1864, the cruiser 
Montgomery saw the Dare with Confederate colors 
flying near Lockwood’s Folly, heading for Cape 
Fear. The Montgomery and her consort the Aries 
gave chase, the latter heading off the Dare, which 
endeavored to escape, but being in range of the guns 
of both pursuers for about four hours, she headed 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 105 


for the beach, and was stranded at 12.30 p. m. a 
little to the northward of North Inlet, near George- 
town, S.C. The weather was very stormy and the 
surf very high so that one of the Federal boats, in 
attempting to board the Dare, was capsized and her 
crew made prisoners by the Confederates behind 
the sand dunes. Other Federal boats reached the 
stranded vessel and set her on fire. 

The officers and crew of the Dare escaped to the 
shore. 


THE “BENDIGO.” 


In 1863, when the demand for suitable merchant 
steamers to run the Wilmington blockade could not 
be met, even at enormous prices, the eager buyers 
began to bid on the Clyde River steamers. Some of 
extraordinary speed but of frail construction were 
lost on the long and often tempestous voyage across 
the Atlantic via Madeira and Bermuda, while others 
succeeded in passing the blockade with almost the 
regularity of mail boats. Of such was the Bendigo, 
previously named the Milly. Her description was 
as follows: Topsail yard schooner Bendigo; steam- 
ship of Liverpool, late Milly, 178 tons, built of 
iron, hull painted green, three portholes on either 
side fore and aft of paddle boxes. Elliptic stern, 


106 DERELICTS 


carriage and name on same painted white, bridge 
athwartships on top of paddle boxes; after funnel 
or smokestack, with steam pipe fore part of same, 
fire funnel or smoke stack with steam pipe fore part 
of same; draws eight feet six inches aft and eight 
feet forward. 

I am putting this description (now obsolete) on 
record because it was a type of many other blockade 
runners in 1863-64. 

The Wilmington Journal of January 11, 1864, 
described the stranding of the blockade runner Ben- 
digo at Lockwood’s Folly Inlet, from which it ap- 
pears that the wreck of the blockade runner Eliza- 
beth was mistaken by the Bendigo for a Federal 
cruiser, and in trying to run between the wreck and 
the beach the Bendigo was stranded. The Bendigo 
was discovered at 11 a. m. January 4, 1864, by 
Acting Rear Admiral S. P. Lee on his flagship 
Fahkee, who attempted with the assistance of the 
Fort Jackson, Iron Age, Montgomery, and Day- 
light to haul off the Bendigo, in which they failed 
because the Confederate batteries on shore drove 
them off with the loss of the Iron Age, which got 
aground and blew up. The Bendigo was set on fire 
and abandoned and her hull may be still visible at 
Lockwood's Folly Bar. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 107 


Tue ‘‘ANTONICA.” 


This Confederate blockade runner I remember as 
a fine ship and very successful. She was of the old 
American type of passenger and mail boat, 516 tons, 
known previously as the Herald. So regular and 
reliable in her runs was she that I recall a remark 
of one of her officers that it was only necessary to 
start her engine, put her on her course for either 
Wilmington or Nassau, lash her wheel, and she 
would go in and out by herself. 

She ran several times in and out of Charleston, 
where she was registered carrying 1,000 to 1,200 
bales of cotton and some tobacco. She was com- 
manded on her last voyage by Capt. W. F. Adair, 
who reported that on the night of the 19th of De- 
cember, 1863, the dntonica made the land at Little 
River Inlet, the dividing line between North Caro- 
lina and South Carolina, and stood to the eastward 
of Lockwood’s Folly Inlet and waited until the 
moon set at 2.30 a. m., when he attempted to run 
the blockade at Cape Fear Bar, but in trying to pass 
the blockader Governor Buckingham was forced 
ashore on Frying Pan Shoals, and he and his crew, 
twenty-six all told, were captured while making for 
the beach in their own boats. 


108 DERELICTS 


The Antonica was loaded and bound for Wil- 
mington with a very valuable cargo of war supplies 
when she was lost. The wreck still remains on Fry- 
ing Pan Shoals. 

I recall an interesting episode with reference to 
the Antonica which nearly caused a rupture between 
the British and Federal Governments while I was 
with my ship in the British port of Nassau. The 
incident was referred to by the late Capt. Michael 
Usina of Savannah in his most interesting address 
many years ago before the Confederate Veterans, 
and I repeat it in his words: 

“On one occasion I was awakened by the sound 
of cannon in the early morning at Nassau, and im- 
agine my surprise to see a Confederate ship being 
fired at by a Federal man-of-war. The Confed- 
erate proved to be the Antonica, Captain Coxet- 
ter, who arrived off the port during the night, and, 
waiting for a pilot and daylight, found when day- 
light did appear that an enemy’s ship was between 
him and the bar. There was nothing left for him 
to do but run the gauntlet and take his fire, which 
he did in good shape, some of the shot actually fall- 
ing into the harbor. The Federal ship was com- 
manded by Commodore Wilkes, who became widely 
known from taking Mason and Slidell prisoners. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 109 


After the chase was over Wilkes anchored his ship, 
and when the Governor sent to tell him that he must 
not remain at anchor there he said: ‘Tell the Gov- 
ernor, etc., etc., he would anchor where he pleased.’ 
The military authorities sent their artillery across to 
Hog Island, near where he was anchored, and we 
Confederates thought the fun was about to begin. 
But Wilkes remained just long enough to commu- 
nicate with the consul and get what information he 
wanted, and left.” 


THE “FLORIE” AND THE “BADGER.” 


These two fine boats were well known to me. The 
former was named after Mrs. J. G. Wright, of Wil- 
mington, the beautiful daughter of Capt. John N. 
Mafhtt, who commanded my ship the Lilian, a sis- 
ter boat. 

The Florie was owned by the State of Georgia 
and by some of its prominent citizens, Gov. Joseph 
Brown, Col. C. A. L. Lamar, and others. She 
made several successful runs to Wilmington, but her 
end is clouded in mystery. There is no record of 
her fate except a report by some “‘intelligent con- 
trabands” to the Federal fleet that she was sunk in- 
side the bar in Cape Fear River; whether by acci- 
dent or by shell fire I am unable to ascertain. It 


110 DERELICTS 


was said that the Badger, sister ship to the Lynx, 
came to her end the same way after making several 
runs through the fleet. 


The following order of the Confederate Secre- 
tary of the Navy to Capt. John N. Maffitt, who was 
then in command of the Owl, will explain why so 
many valuable ships were run ashore rather than 
surrendered into the hands of the Federals: 


Order of the Secretary of the Navy to Com- 
mander Mafftt, C. S. Navy, repeating telegram of 
instructions regarding the command of the blockade 
runner Owl. 


‘““CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, 
“Navy DEPARTMENT, RICHMOND, 
“September 19, 1864. 

“Sir: The following telegram was this day sent 
to you: 

“Tt is of the first importance that our steamers 
should not fall into the enemy’s hands. Apart from 
the specific loss sustained by the country in the cap- 
ture of blockade runners, these vessels, lightly 
armed, now constitute the fleetest and most efficient 
part of his blockading force off Wilmington. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 111 


“As commanding officer of the Owl you will 
please devise and adopt thorough and efficient 
means for saving all hands and destroying the ves- 
sel and cargo whenever these measures may become 
necessary to prevent capture. Upon your firmness 
and ability the Department relies for the execution 
of this important trust. In view of this order, no 
passenger will, as a general rule, be carried. Such 
exceptions to this rule as the public interests may 
render necessary, embracing those who may be sent 
by the Government, will receive special permits from 
this Department. 

“Assistant Paymaster Tredwell has been in- 
structed to pay over to you, taking your receipt for 
the same, 5,000 pounds in sterling bills. You will 
please keep an accurate account with vouchers in 
duplicate of all your expenditures, one set of which 
you will submit to Mr. W. H. Peters, our special 
agent at Wilmington, upon each round trip you may 
make. 

“I am respectfully your obedient servant, 

“S. R. MALLory, 
“Secretary of the Navy. 
“Commander JoHN N. Marrirt, C. S. Navy, 
“Care W. H. Peters, Esq., 
“Wilmington, N. C.” 


112 DERELICTS 


Tue “CAPE FEAR.” 


A notable blockade runner called the Virginia was 
bought by the Confederate Government during the 
war and renamed the Cape Fear. She was put un- 
der the command of Captain Guthrie, a Cape Fear 
pilot of recognized ability, who was succeeded by 
an English gentleman, a fine sailor, Captain Wise, 
who cast his lot with our people and ran the Cape 
Fear up and down the river for several years as a 
Confederate transport. She was destroyed in the 
river when the Federals captured Fort Fisher. Cap- 
tain Wise married a Miss Flora McCaleb, of Wil- 
mington, and for years after the war conducted a 
lumberyard here. He was a most courteous, at- 
tractive gentleman, generally respected in the com- 
munity. He died here many years ago. 


Tue “Nortu HEATH.” 


During the third year of the War between the 
States, I was appointed at the age of seventeen 
years purser of the blockade-running steamer North 
Heath, under command of Captain Burroughs, who 
had successfully run the blockade twelve times in 
charge of the Confederate steamer Cornubia, later 
named Lady Davis, after the wife of the President. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 113 


I believe that under God, Captain Burroughs, by 
his fine qualities as a cool and capable seaman, saved 
this ship from foundering at sea when we ran into 
a hurricane shortly after our departure from St. 
George, Bermuda, bound for Wilmington. For two 
days and nights we were in imminent danger of our 
lives—tossed upon a raging sea, every man of our 
crew of 48 except those at the wheel was lashed to 
the vessel, while we bailed with buckets and the use 
of hand pumps the flooded fireroom of our sinking 
vessel. For an entire night she wallowed like a 
log in a trough of mountainous waves, which broke 
over us in ever-increasing fury. I can never forget 
this frightful scene. It seems photographed upon 
my memory in all its fearsome details. 

The water had risen in our hold until every one 
of our fourteen furnaces was extinguished. There 
was no steam to run our donkey boilers and steam- 
power pumps. Lashed to one another, in the black- 
ness of darkness, relieved only by the intermittent 
flashes of lightning which illuminated the giant 
Waves towering around us and threatening to over- 
whelm and sink the laboring, quivering fabric, we 
held on in despair until morning, when we began to 
gain on the leaks until our steam pumps could be 
used in relieving the boiler room, and our brave 


114 DERELICTS 


} 


captain got the ship under control. Then we suc- 
ceeded in putting her about and headed back to 
Bermuda. 

The strain of this exposure resulted in an attack 
of fever, which confined me to bed for a long time 
on shore, and Captain Burroughs reluctantly left me 
behind when the ship was ready for sea. After we 
repaired our badly damaged hull and machinery, 
the North Heath proceeded again toward Wilming- 
ton, passing the blockading fleet safely. When she 
was about to load cotton for the outward voyage, 
the Federal expedition against Fort Fisher arrived 
off Cape Fear and presented such a formidable 
appearance that the Confederate Government seized 
the North Heath, loaded her with stone and sank 
her at a point below Sunset Park where the river 
channel is narrow, as an obstruction to the Federal 
fleet which subsequently captured Wilmington. For 
many years after she was an obstruction to peaceful 
commerce, but the wreck was finally removed by 
the River and Harbor Improvement Engineers. 


THe “Kare,” 


There were two blockade runners named Kate, 
but they were quite different as to origin and enter- 
prise. The first one of that name was an Ameri- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 115 


can-built steamer, previously in the coast trade. 
She was commanded by Capt. Thomas J. Lockwood, 
and it was this vessel that brought to Wilmington 
on the 6th of August, 1862, the fearful plague of 
yellow fever, which raged for ten weeks and carried 
off 446 of our people. After several successful voy- 
ages she ran ashore above Fiddler’s Dreen, near 
Southport, and went to pieces. 

About twenty years ago I related in Justice 
Clark’s North Carolina Regimental Histories, pub- 
lished in five volumes, 1901, an incident in the career 
of this steamer Kate which may be worth repeating: 

On one occasion in the Kate Lockwood had run 
inside the line of blockaders at the Main Bar some 
distance up the beach, and suddenly took the ground 
while jammed between an anchored man-of-war and 
the breakers. The blockader did not see him, al- 
though so near that no one on board the Kate was 
permitted to speak above a whisper. The tide was 
near the last of the ebb and there were only a few 
hours of darkness in which to work. George C. 
McDougal, chief engineer and Captain Lockwood’s 
brother-in-law, always ready for an emergency, had 
promptly loaded the safety valve down with a bag 
of iron castings to prevent any noise from escaping 
steam, and when it became absolutely necessary the 


116 DERELICTS 


steam was blown off very gently under the water. 
The boats were lowered noiselessly and several pas- 
sengers and a lot of valuables landed in the surf on 
the lee side of the vessel, with orders to proceed to 
Fort Caswell in the distance. At first it seemed im- 
possible to save the ship, as any noise from her pad- 
dies would inevitably have led to her destruction by 
the blockaders, which were seen plainly only a 
cable’s length from the Kate’s perilous position. 
Lockwood held a consultation with his trusted engi- 
neer, and decided to open the gangway and quietly 
slide overboard a lot of lead wire in heavy coils, 
which was part of the inward cargo, and which was 
intended to be cut into bullets by the Confederate 
Government. This served to lighten the ship and 
also as an effectual bulkhead which prevented the 
vessel from working higher up on the beach when 
the tide turned, and the discharge went on for some 
time without apparent effect; but the rising tide soon 
after began to bump the bilges of the vessel against 
the sand bank inside. Lockwood proposed an at- 
tempt to back clear or to beach her at once, but the 
“Boss,” as McDougal was called, calmly showed 
him that unless they were sure of floating clear on 
the first attempt they would never be permitted to 
make a second trial, as the paddles would surely be- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 117 


tray them to the fleet. Another fifteen minutes that 
seemed an hour of suspense, and the captain again 
urged immediate action, but the imperturbable en- 
gineer said: ‘‘Wait a little longer, Oakie; she is 
rising every minute; let us be sure of getting off be- 
fore we make the effort.”” Meantime the bumping 
increased, and at last, with everything in readiness 
and a full head of steam, the engines were reversed 
full speed, and the Kate, quickly afloat and respond- 
ing to the wheel, gallantly passed the blockading 
fleet in the gray dawn and shortly afterwards an- 
chored under the guns of Fort Caswell. She had 
hardly swung to the anchor before she was seen by 
the disappointed blockaders, who sent shell after 
shell flying after her, bursting in such uncomfort- 
able proximity, that the Kate was moved up to Mrs. 
Stuart’s wharf at Smithville, where the shell and 
solid shot still followed her, many passing in a 
line more than a thousand yards beyond the wharf. 
With the aid of a good glass a man could be seen 
in the foretop of the Federal flagship with a flag 
in his hand, which he waved to right or left as he 
saw the effect of the firing; this enabled the gun- 
ners to better their aim until the shells struck just 
astern of the Kate or passed in a line ahead of the 
vessel. On a closer approach of the fleet they were 


118 DERELICTS 


driven off by Fort Caswell’s heaviest guns. The 
Kate and her crew were in great peril on this occa- 
sion, owing to the fact that there were a thousand 
barrels of gunpowder on board for the Confeder- 
acy, making the risk from the shells extremely dan- 
gerous. Mr. McDougal said to me on this occa- 
sion that when the Yankees began shelling them at 
Fort Caswell a detachment of soldiers was being 
embarked for Wilmington on the Confederate trans- 
port James T. Petteway, and that when the first — 
shell struck the beach near the Petteway, the whole 
company broke ranks and ran like rabbits to the 
fort again. 

Some time ago the Wilmington Daily Review 
published an account of the recovery of a large lot 
of wire from the bottom of the sea near Fort Cas- 
well. This was doubtless part of the Kate’s cargo 
thrown overboard as described. 


THE SECOND “KATE.” 


The second Kate was a new iron steamer, double- 
screw propeller, 344 tons, English built, commanded 
by Captain Stubbs. She had made a successful run 
into Charleston with a valuable cargo, and was also 
successful in running out again with 700 bales of 
cotton, which she landed in Nassau. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 119 


She had loaded a second inward cargo at Nas- 
sau and sailed for Charleston, but, failing to elude 
the blockaders, she ran for Wilmington and on July 
12, 1863, at 4.55 o'clock a. m., was making for 
New Inlet close ahead when she was intercepted by 
the Federal blockader Penobscot, which opened a 
heavy fire on her and drove her ashore on the south 
end of Smith’s Island, where her wrecked hull still 
remains. The Federals attempted to haul the Kate 
off into deep water, but were prevented by the Con- 
federates on shore, who drove them away. With 
the exception of two of her crew who remained and 
were captured, the officers and men of the Kate es- 
caped to the shore. 


Tue “Nicut Hawk.” 


It is not surprising that the Federal blockading 
fleet so often failed to refloat blockade runners after 
they were stranded on the beach, because the run- 
ners always timed their attempt to pass the fleet at 
high tide, the depth of water on the bar being only 
10 to 12 feet and the channel beset with shoals 
and obstructions, so that before the Federals could 
prepare for hauling off these vessels and thereby 
secure for themselves large sums of prize money, 
the tide would have fallen, leaving the stranded 


120 DERELICTS 


ships more firmly embedded in the sand, and when 
in daylight another high tide would come the Fed- 
erals had to deal with the Confederate guns, which 
kept them at a distance. There were, however, sev- 
eral instances which I recall of the rescue of 
stranded ships by the Confederates, notably that of 
the Kate and of the Night Hawk. ‘The latter was 
a most spectacular, exciting affair, which I will re- 
late in Mr. Thomas Taylor’s words: 

“It was on my second trip to Bermuda that one 
of the finest boats we ever possessed, called the 
Night Hawk, came out, and I concluded to run in 
with her. She was a new side-wheel steamer of 
some 600 tons gross, rigged as a fore-and-aft 
schooner, with two funnels, 220 feet long, 2114 feet 
beam, and 11 feet in depth; a capital boat for the 
work, fast, strong, of light draught, and a splendid 
sea boat—a great merit in a blockade runner, which 
sometimes has to be forced in all weathers. The 
Night Hawk’s career was a very eventful one, and 
she passed an unusually lively night off Fort Fisher 
on her first attempt. 

“Soon after getting under way our troubles be- 
gan. We ran ashore outside Hamilton, one of the 
harbors of Bermuda, and hung on a coral reef for 
a couple of hours. There loomed before us the 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 121 


dismal prospect of delay for repairs, or, still worse, 
the chance of springing a leak and experiencing such 
difficulties and dangers as we had undergone on the 
Will-o’-the-Wisp, but fortunately we came off with- 
out damage and were able to proceed on our 
voyage. 

“Another anxiety now engrossed my mind: the 
-captain was an entirely new hand, and nearly all 
the crew were green at the work; moreover, the 
Wilmington pilot was quite unknown to me, and I 
could see from the outset that he was very nervous 
and badly wanting in confidence. What would I 
not have given for our trusty pilot Tom Burriss! 
However, we had to make the best of it, as, owing 
to the demand, the supply of competent pilots was 
not nearly sufficient, and toward the close of the 
blockade the so-called pilots were no more than 
boatmen or men who had been trading in and out 
of Wilmington or Charleston in coasters. 

“Notwithstanding my fears, all went well on the 
way across, and the Night Hawk proved to be 
everything that could be desired in speed and sea- 
worthiness. We had sighted unusually few craft, 
and nothing eventful occurred until the third night. 
Soon after midnight we found ourselves uncomfort- 
ably near a large vessel. It was evident that we had 


122 DERELICTS 


been seen, as we heard them beating to quarters 
and were hailed. We promptly sheered off and went 
full speed ahead, greeted by a broadside which went 
across our stern. When we arrived within strik- 
ing distance of Wilmington Bar, the pilot was anx- 
. lous to go in by Smith’s Inlet, but as he acknowl- 
edged that he knew very little about it, I concluded 
it was better to keep to the New Inlet passage, 
where, at all events, we should have the advantage 
of our good friend Lamb to protect us; and I felt 
that as I myself knew the place so well, this was the 
safest course to pursue. We were comparatively 
well through the fleet, although heavily fired at, 
and arrived near to the bar, passing close by two 
Northern launches which were lying almost upon it. 
Unfortunately, it was dead low water, and although 
I pressed the pilot to give our boat a turn around, 
keeping under way, and to wait awhile until the 
tide made, he was so demoralized by the firing we 
had gone through and the nearness of the launches, 
which were constantly throwing up rockets, that he 
insisted upon putting her at the bar, and, as I 
feared, we grounded on it forward and with the 
strong flood tide quickly broached to, broadside 
on to the northern breakers. We kept our engines 
going for some time, but to no purpose, as we found 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 123 


we were only being forced by the tide more on to 
the breakers. Therefore we stopped, and all at 
once found our friends, the two launches, close 
aboard; they had discovered we were ashore, and 
had made up their minds to attack us. 

““At once all was in confusion; the pilot and sig- 
nalman rushed to the dinghy, lowered it, and made 
good their escape; the captain lost his head and 
disappeared; and the crews of the launches, after 
firing several volleys, one of which slightly wounded 
me, rowed in to board us on each sponson. Just 
at this moment I suddenly recollected that our pri- 
vate dispatches, which ought to have been thrown 
overboard, were still in the starboard lifeboat. I 
rushed to it, but found the lanyard to which the 
sinking weight was attached was foul of one of the 
thwarts; I tugged and tugged, but to no purpose, 
so I sung out for a knife, which was handed to me 
by a fireman, and I cut the line and pitched the bag 
overboard as the Northerners jumped on board. 
Eighteen months afterwards that fireman accosted 
me in the Liverpool streets, saying, ‘Mr. Taylor, do 
you remember my lending you a knife?’ ‘Of course 
I do,’ I replied, giving him a tip at which he was 
mightily pleased. Poor fellow! he had been thir- 
teen months in a Northern prison. 


124 DERELICTS 


“When the Northerners jumped on board they 
were terribly excited. I don’t know whether they 
expected resistance or not, but they acted more like 
maniacs than sane men, firing their revolvers and 
cutting right and left with their cutlasses. I stood 
in front of the men on the poop and said that we 
surrendered, but all the reply I received from the 
lieutenant commanding was, ‘Oh, you surrender, do 
you?’ accompanied by a string of the choicest Yan- 
kee oaths and sundry reflections upon my parent- 
age; whereupon he fired his revolver twice point 
blank at me not two yards distant; it was a miracle 
he did not kill me, as I heard the bullets whiz past 
my head. This roused my wrath, and I expostu- 
lated in the strongest terms upon his firing on un- 
armed men; he then cooled down, giving me into 
charge of two of his men, one of whom speedily 
possessed himself of my binocular. Fortunately, as 
I had no guard to my watch, they didn’t discover it, 
and I have it still. 

“Finding they could not get the ship off, and 
afraid, I presume, of Lamb and his men coming to 
our rescue, the Federals commenced putting the cap- 
tain (who had been discovered behind a boat!) and 
the crew into the boats; they then set the ship on fire 
fore and aft, and she soon began to blaze merrily. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 125 


At this moment one of our firemen, an Irishman, 
sang out, ‘Begorra, we shall all be in the air in a 
minute; the ship is full of gunpowder!’ No sooner 
did the Northern sailors hear this than a panic 
seized them, and they rushed to their boats, threat- 
ening to leave their officers behind if they did not 
come along. The men who were holding me 
dropped me like a hot potato, and to my great 
delight jumped into their boat, and away they 
rowed as fast as they could, taking all our crew, 
with the exception of the second officer, one of the 
engineers, four seamen, and myself, as prisoners. 
“We chuckled at our lucky escape, but we were 
not out of the woods yet, as we had only a boat 
half stove in in which to reach the shore through 
some three hundred yards of surf, and we were 
afraid at any moment that our enemies, finding 
there was no powder on board, might return. We 
made a feeble effort to put the fire out, but it had 
gained too much headway, and although I offered 
the men with me £50 apiece to stand by me and per- 
severe, they were too demoralized and began to 
lower the shattered boat, swearing they would leave 
me behind if I didn’t come with them. There was 
nothing for it but to go, yet the passage through 
the boiling surf seemed more dangerous to my mind 


126 DERELICTS 


than remaining on the burning ship. The block- 
aders immediately opened fire when they knew their 
own men had left the Night Hawk and that she 
was burning; and Lamb’s great shells hurtling over 
our heads, and those from the blockading fleet 
bursting all around us, formed a weird picture. In 
spite of the hail of shot and shell and the dangers 
of the boiling surf, we reached the shore in safety, 
wet through, and glad I was, in my state of exhaus- 
tion from loss of blood and fatigue, to be welcomed 
by Lamb’s orderly officer. 

“The poor Night Hawk was now a sheet of 
flame, and I thought it was all up with her; and 
indeed it would have been had it not been for Lamb, 
who, calling for volunteers from his garrison, sent 
off two or three boat loads of men to her, and when 
I came down to the beach, after having my wound 
dressed and a short rest, I was delighted to find the 
fire had visibly decreased. I went on board, and 
after some hours of hard work the fire was extin- 
guished. But what a wreck she was! 

“Luckily, with the rising tide she had bumped 
over the bank, and was now lying on the main 
beach much more accessible and sheltered. Still it 
seemed an almost hopeless task to save her; but we 
were not going to be beaten without a try, so, hav- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 127 


ing ascertained how she lay and the condition she 
was in, I resolved to have an attempt made to get 
her dry, and telegraphed to Wilmington for assist- 
ance. 

“Our agent sent me down about three hundred 
negroes to assist in bailing and pumping, and I set 
them to work at once. As good luck would have 
it, my finest steamer, Banshee No. 2, which had just 
been sent out, ran in the next night. She was a great 
improvement on the first Banshee, having a sea 
speed of 1514 knots, which was considered very fast 
in those days; her length was 252 feet, beam 31 
feet, depth 11 feet, her registered tonnage 439 
tons, and her crew consisted of fifty-three in all. I 
at once requisitioned her for aid in the shape of en- 
gineers and men, so that now I had everything I 
could want in the way of hands. Our great difficulty 
was that the Night Hawk’s anchors would not hold 
for us to get a fair haul at her. 

“But here again I was to be in luck. For the 
‘very next night the Condor, commanded by poor 
Hewett, in attempting to run in stuck fast upon the 
bank over which we had bumped, not one hundred 
yards to windward of us, and broke in two. It is 
an ill wind that blows nobody good, and Hewett’s 
mischance proved the saving of our ship. Now we 


128 DERELICTS 


had a hold for our chain cables by making them fast 
to the wreck, and were able gradually to haul her 
off by them a little during each tide, until on the 
seventh day we had her afloat in a gut between the 
bank and the shore, and at high water we steamed 
under our own steam gaily up the river to Wil- 
mington. 

“Considering the appliances we had and the cir- 
cumstances under which we were working, the sav- 
ing of that steamer was certainly a wonderful per- 
formance, as we were under fire almost the whole 
time. The Northerners, irritated, no doubt, by their 
failure to destroy the ship, used to shell us by day 
and send in boats by night; Lamb, however, put a 
stop to the latter annoyance by lending us a couple 
of companies to defend us, and one night, when our 
enemies rowed close up with the intention of board- 
ing us, they were glad to sheer off with the loss of 
a lieutenant and several men. In spite of all the 
shot and shell by day and the repeated attacks by 
night, we triumphed in the end, and, after having 
the Night Hawk repaired at a huge cost and getting 
together a crew, I gave May, a friend of mine, 
command of her, and he ran her out successfully 
with a valuable cargo, which made her pay, not- 
withstanding all her bad luck and the amount spent 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 129 


upon her. Poor May! he was afterwards governor 
of Perth gaol, and is dead now—a high-toned, sen- 
sitive gentleman, mightily proud of his ship, lame 
duck as she was. 

“When she was burning, our utmost efforts were 
of course directed toward keeping her engine room 
and boilers amidships intact, and confining the 
flames to both ends; in this we were successful, 
mainly owing to the fact of her having thwartship 
bunkers; but as regards the rest of the steamer she 
was a complete wreck; her sides were all corru- 
gated with the heat, and her stern so twisted that 
her starboard quarter was some two feet higher 
than her port quarter, and not a particle of wood 
work was left unconsumed. Owing to the limited 
resources of Wilmington as regards repairs, I found 
it impossible to have this put right, so her sides 
were left as they were, and the new deck put on 
the slope I have described, and caulked with cotton, 
as no oakum was procurable. When completed she 
certainly was a queer looking craft, but as tight as 
a bottle and as seaworthy as ever, although I doubt 
if any Lloyd’s surveyor would have passed her. 
But as a matter of fact she came across the Atlan- 
tic, deeply immersed with her coal supply, through 
some very bad weather, without damage, and was 


130 DERELICTS 


sold for a mere song, to be repaired and made into 
a passenger boat for service on the East Coast, 
where she ran for many years with success. 

“It had been a hard week for me, as I had no 
clothes except what I had on when we were boarded, 
my servant very cleverly, as he imagined, having 
thrown my portmanteau into the man-of-war’s boat 
when he thought I was going to be captured, and 
all I had in the world was the old serge suit in 
which I stood. Being without a change and wet 
through every day and night for six days consecu- 
tively, it is little wonder that I caught fever and 
ague, of which I nearly died in Richmond, and 
which distressing complaint stuck to me for more 
than eighteen months. I shall never forget, on go- 
ing to a store in Wilmington for a new rig-out 
(which by the by cost $1,200), the look of horror 
on the storekeeper’s face when I told him the coat 
I had purchased would do if he cut a foot off it; he 
thought it such a waste of expensive material.” 


Tue THREE-FUNNEL Boats. 


In the latter part of the War between the States, 
the experience of the blockade runners evolved a 
superior type of construction for great speed, shal- 
low depth of hold, and increased furnace draught, 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 131 


for which three funnels were provided. A very in- 
teresting and unusual sight were these three-funnel 
boats. I recall their names, Falcon, Flamingo, 
Condor, Ptarmigan, Vulture. Mr. Taylor in his 
book says that Admiral Hewett commanded the 
Falcon on an ill-fated voyage, but I remember it 
was the Condor and also that one of the passengers 
‘was the celebrated and unfortunate lady Mrs. 
“Greenhow” or “Greenough,” who lost her life 
when the Condor ran aground near the bar. The 
Condor went to pieces when she was stranded, the 
crew escaping to the shore. 


THe ‘‘PEVENSEY.” 


The last stranded steamer on my list, the Peven- 
sey, was probably named for the Earl of Wilming- 
ton, who was also Viscount Pevensey. 

Her chief officer, who gave his name to his cap- 
tors as Joseph Brown, was undoubtedly Joseph 
Brown Long, who ran the blockade many times in 
the Cornubia as chief officer with Captain Bur- 
roughs, and as the right-hand man of Maj. Norman 
S. Walker, the Confederate agent at Bermuda. He 
was greatly esteemed by all Southerners. I recall his 
many kindnesses to me with gratefulness. 


132 DERELICTS 


I quote in full the official reports of the stranding 
and destruction of the Pevensey. 


Destruction of the Blockade Runner “Pevensey,” 
June 9, 1864. 
(Report of Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Harris, 


U. S. Navy.) 
“U.S. S. ‘New BERNE,’ 
“Hampton Roads, Va., June 16. 

“SiR: I have the honor to report the stranding, 
on the gth instant, of the blockade runner Pevensey 
(named Penversey in the extracts April 16, 1864), 
under the following circumstances: 

“3.30 a. m., steering N. E. by N., Beaufort 45 
miles distant, made a steamer bearing N. E. by E., 
4 miles distant, running slow and heading E. N. E.; 
she, being to the eastward, did not immediately dis- 
cover this vessel. Hauled up E. N. E., when, gain- 
ing on her within 214 miles, she made all speed, 
steering E. Opened fire and stood E by N. The 
second shot carried away the forward davit of her 
quarter boat. She immediately changed her course, 
steered N., and struck the beach 9 miles west of 
Beaufort at 8.05 a. m. Her crew took to the boats 
at once, this vessel at the time being 114 miles dis- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 133 


tant. Ran into 314 fathoms, and when within 100 
yards of the strand she blew up. 

“Sent in three boats, boarded her, and found her 
engines and boilers completely blown out. Plugged 
up the pipes; anchored in 3 fathoms, and made ar- 
rangements to pull her off; 9 a. m., tug Violet came 
down from Beaufort and anchored on the quarter; 
9.30 a. m., Commander B. M. Dove arrived in the 
Cherokee, came on board and said he would take 
charge of the wreck, and the New Berne would pro- 
ceed to Beaufort, it being then high water, to save 
the tide in. Recalled boats and arrived at Beaufort 
at II a. m., anchoring outside too late for the tide. 

“One prisoner was found on board the vessel, un- 
harmed from the explosion, who proved himself to 
be an escaped prisoner from Johnson’s Island, of 
Morgan’s guerillas. One body was found upon the 
beach, and thirty-five prisoners were captured on 
shore by the cavalry, three of whom are supposed 
to be Confederate officers, one of them adjutant 
general to Magruder. She was loaded on Confed- 
erate account, cargo consisting of arms, blankets, 
shoes, cloth, clothing, lead, bacon, and numerous 
packages marked to individuals. She had been 
chased on the 7th instant by the Quaker City, and 
had thrown overboard, by log book, 30 tons lead 


1384 DERELICTS 


and 20 tons bacon; was 543 tons, of English reg- 
ister; no manifest of cargo found. Gunner S. D. 
Hines has discovered seven Whitworth tompions 
tied together, bright, and in good condition, which 
suggests the possibility of that number of guns be- 
ing under the musket boxes. 

‘The prisoners captured ashore were held in Fort 
Macon, and the one secured on board was trans- 
ferred there by order of Commander Dove. I un- 
derstood that after the army authorities had satis- 
fied themselves with regard to the identity of the 
prisoners they were to be transferred to this [ place] 
per Keystone State. 

“T have learned since leaving Beaufort that the 
reputed mate is the real captain; that he is a Cap- 
tain Long, the outdoor agent of Major Walker 
(the Confederate agent at Bermuda), a citizen of 
New York, and having formerly commanded a ship 
from there. The reputed captain (an Englishman) 
was merely the paper or clearing captain. Of these 
facts I have informed Captain Gansevoort. 

“It will not now be possible to get the vessel off, 
but a large amount of the cargo can be saved, if 
properly guarded. 

“Had the after 30-pound Parrott, for which the 
requisition was approved by you April 22, been fur- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 135 


nished, his chances of reaching the shore would have 
been reduced. He evidently was ignorant of his 
position, as the first question asked was, ‘How far 
is it to Fort Caswell?’ 
“Very respectfully, 
“Your obedient servant, 
“T, A. Harris, 
“Acting Volunteer Lieutenant, Commanding. 
“Acting Rear Admiral S. P. Lrg, 
“Commanding North Atlantic Blockading 
Squadron.” 


(Report of Acting Rear Admiral Lee, U.S. Navy.) - 


“FLacsHip NortH ATLANTIC 
BLOCKADING SQUADRON, 
“Washington, D. C., July 14, 1864. 
“StR: Inclosed I forward to the Department a 

list of those of the crew of the blockade runner 
Pevensey, which ran on shore and was destroyed 
by her crew near Beaufort, N. C., on the 9th ultimo, 
who are now detained at Camp Hamilton, Fort 
Monroe, and at Point Lookout. The late master of 
the Pevensey was detained by Captain Gansevoort 
as a witness, he supposing that a portion of the 
cargo of the blockade runner was saved and would 
be sent North as a prize. 


’ 


136 DERELICTS 


“The others are detained as habitual violators of 
the blockade under the instructions of the Depart- 
ment, dated May 9, 1864, to Rear Admiral Far- 
ragut, forwarded to me for my information May 
16, 1864. 

“The examination of these men took place in 
presence of Commander Peirce Crosby and Lieut. 
Commander Chester Hatfield. The chief officer of 
the Pevensey, Joseph Brown, is detained at Camp 
Hamilton as an habitual violator of the blockade; 
all the others are detained at Point Lookout. I 
have requested the commandant of the post at Fort 
Monroe to discharge the master of the Pevensey, 
as there is no longer any reason for detaining him, 
the vessel and cargo having proved a total loss. 

“T have the honor to be, Sir, 

“Very respectfully, 
“S. P. Leg, 
“Acting Rear Admiral, 

“Comdg. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 
“Hon. GIDEON WELLES, 

“Secretary of the Navy.” 


Tue “ELLA AND ANNIE.” 


The chief purpose of this book was to record the 
incidents leading to the stranding of blockade run- 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 137 


ners upon the Cape Fear coast while endeavoring 
to elude the Federal cruisers in the War between 
the States. There were more than three times as 
many captured or sunk at sea; and a recital of some 
of these exciting chases would make another volume. 

I am tempted, however, to include in these stories 
of derelicts, an official account of the attempt of 
the Confederate steamer Ella and Annie, in com- 
mand of Captain Bonneau, with whom I was com- 
paratively intimate, to run down the Federal cruiser 
Niphon, which opposed her entrance into the Cape 
Fear River, on the 9th of November, 1863, because 
this incident was of unusual daring on the part of 
Captain Bonneau, who was liable to be hanged as 
a pirate for such temerity. 

The Ella and Annie was subsequently armed and 
equipped as the U. S. flagship Malvern and served 
that purpose until the end of the war. 


(Report of Acting Rear Admiral Lee, U. S. Navy.) 


“U.S. FLracsuip ‘MINNESOTA,’ 
“Orr Newport News, VA., 
“November 12, 1863. 
“Str: In addition to the captures of the Mar- 
garet and Jessie and the Cornubia, or Lady Davis, 
detailed in my Nos. 948 and 949 of this date, I 


138 DERELICTS 


have the gratification of presenting to the depart- 
ment the details of the capture of the rebel blockade 
runner Ella and Annie, off Wilmington. 

“At 5.30 o'clock on the morning of the 9th in- 
stant, the Niphon, returning from an unsuccessful 
chase and steaming along the beach to the north- 
ward of New Inlet, made another steamer near 
Masonboro Inlet coming down along the shore. 
The stranger finding himself intercepted, put his 
helm up and endeavored to run down the Niphon. 
This attempt was partly avoided, though the 
Niphon was struck about the fore rigging, and her 
bowsprit, stem and starboard boats carried away. 
At the moment of collision Acting Master Breck 
reports he opened upon the enemy with shell and 
canister and carried the prize by boarding. A keg 
of powder and slow match were found ready to 
blow her up. 

“The Ella and Annie is represented to be a ves- 
sel of 905 tons burden, in good order, with the ex- 
ception of some small damages from shell and 
grape. 

“Her cargo is chiefly composed of 480 sacks of 
salt, 500 sacks of saltpeter, 281 cases of Austrian 
rifles, 500 barrels of beef, 42 cases of paper, etc. 


a 
"5 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 139 


“In the collision three men on board the Niphon 
and four on board the Ella and Annie were slightly 
injured. 

“Inclosed is a list of passengers from this prize, 
brought up by the New Berne (thirty-eight in num- 
ber) and sent to New York in her. 

“The capture seems to have been well and gal- 
lantly made by Acting Master Breck. Captain 
Ridgely, senior officer, commends his spirit and 
promptness. I hope that the department, in view 
of this especial and other good service on the part 
of Acting Master Breck, will favorably consider 
my application for his promotion. 

“The Ella and Annie, | am informed, was built 
at Wilmington, Del., is of light draft, fast, and 
would, I think, be very convenient for general pur- 
poses in this squadron, being available either for 
inside or outside service. I would suggest that she 
be purchased by Government and sent to this squad- 
ron, if, after examination, she be found suitable. 

“I have the honor to be, Sir, 

“Very respectfully yours, 
vo Py Lex 
“Acting Rear Admiral, 

“Comdg. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 

“Hon. GIDEON WELLEs, 

“Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C.” 


i oe tl 


" 


140 DERELICTS 


(Report of Acting Master Breck, U. S. Navy, Com- 
manding U. S. S. Niphon.) 
“U.S. S. ‘NrpHon,’ 
“Orr New INLET, 
“November 9, 1863. 

“Str: I have the honor to report that on the 
morning of this date, while near the beach, saw a 
blockade runner running along the beach; gave 
chase, fired several guns and rockets, but at last lost 
sight of her; stood back to my station and steamed 
along the beach to the north and about 5.30 a. m. 
saw another steamer running along the shore to the 
southward; stood in to cut him off, when he turned 
directly toward me, evidently with the intention of 
running me down, which I avoided, in part, owing 
to this vessel answering her helm with great quick- 
ness. He struck me forward, both vessels running 
at great speed. As we came together, I fired a 
broadside—grape, canister, and shell—and imme- 
diately boarded him and took possession. In se- 
curing the prisoners a lot of shavings and a slow 
match attached to a keg of powder were found in 
the run, the captain acknowledging his intention to 
destroy the vessel. ‘The collision broke bowsprit, 
stove all my starboard boats, broke beam, also some 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 141 


planks near the wood ends, damaged guard, chain 
plates, and caused her decks to leak badly. We have 
three men wounded; also four of the crew of the 
Confederate steamer, one dangerously, by grape or 
shell. The blockade runner, which proved to be 
the Ella and Annie, of Charleston, S. C., is 905 
tons; is in good order with the exception of nu- 
merous shot holes in her upper works. Her cargo 
consists, as near as we can ascertain, of rifles, salt, 
saltpeter, paper, and hardware. She is a Confed- 
erate steamer, officered mostly [by men] of the 
Confederate Navy. She was captured off Mason- 
boro Inlet in four fathoms water, eighteen miles 
north of Fort Fisher; no vessel in signal distance or 
in sight immediately after her capture. Steamed 
toward the fleet, and in about half an hour made 
‘the mastheads of a vessel which proved to be the 
U.S. S. Shenandoah, and shortly after seven o’clock 
came to anchor about three miles north of the 
senior officer’s usual station. About half an hour 
afterwards the Shenandoah came to anchor near us, 
and contrary to the usual custom the senior officer 
sent his own prize master on board. Transferred 
the following officers and crew on board the Ella 
and Annie by order of senior officer: Acting En- 
sign J. J. Reagean, Acting Third Assistant Engineer 


LP hey Pat 
Lat 


J. J. Sullivan, one fireman, one ordinary seaman, 
three landsmen, and two black refugees. 


142 DERELICTS 


“Very respectfully, 
“Your obedient servant, 
“J. B. Breck, 
“Commanding U. 8S. S. ‘Niphon’ 


‘Hon. GIDEON WELLES, 
“Secretary U. 8S. Navy, Washington, D. C.” 


(Third Report of Acting Master Breck, U. S. 
Navy, Commanding U. S. S. Niphon.) 
“U.S. S. ‘NIPHON,’ 
“Beaufort, N. C., November 12, 1863. 
“Str: In addition to my former report, which 
was very hurried for want of time, I have to say 
that F. N. Bonneau, captain of the Ella and Annie, 
states that he has an appointment as lieutenant in 
the Confederate Navy, and that one of the wounded 
prisoners, now on shore in the Hospital Beaufort, 
has an appointment as master in the Confederate 
Navy, and that all prisoners, except those detained 
on board of the prize as witnesses, and those in the 
Hospital Beaufort, were sent by order of Com- 
mander Lynch to Fortress Monroe per steamer 


New Berne. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 143 


“T wish also to state that no vessels were either 
in sight or signal distance at the time of the capture 
of the Ella and Annie and that I know nothing more 
as to her cargo, as the senior officer in command 
sent an officer who is my senior to command the 
prize. 

“T also find that my damage to this ship is more 
serious than [| at first thought, and will inclose re- 
ports from my executive officer and master in re- 
gard to the matter. 

“The Niphon will be hauled up on the sand to- 
morrow to ascertain the damage done to her, and 
we are lightening her forward. 

“T am, Sir, very respectfully, 

“Your obedient servant, 
“J. B. Breck, 
“Commanding U. S. S. ‘Niphon,’ 

“Acting Rear Admiral S. P. LEE, 

“Comdg. North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 
“Off Newport News.” 


A Near DERELICT. 


This caption with reference to a vessel on fire 
at sea permits me to describe one of my gallant 
Captain Maffitt’s last runs through the Federal 
blockade in the War between the States. 


144 DERELICTS 


It should be borne in mind that the dangers of 
blockade running materially increased as the enemy 
became more expert and accumulated facilities to 
out-wit and out-maneuver the blockade runners. On 
one of the last voyages of Captain Maffitt he found 
that the risks were aggravated by the concentration 
of interest on the part of the Federals to Abaco 
Light, a night’s run from Nassau, and the turning 
point for blockade runners. Three Federal men- 
of-war were stationed in the neighborhood and 
greeted the appearance of the small vessel with a 
salvo of shot which splintered spars and damaged 
bulwarks, and would have made short order of the 
goo barrels of gunpowder which constituted a por- 
tion of the cargo, if the Confederate had not been 
able, by superior speed facilities, to put a safe dis- 
tance between her and her pursuers. Hardly out 
of danger from these three men-of-war, two others 
were sighted on the horizon, and the race was re- 
doubled as the Federals made a fight for the prize. 
The same methods used so successfully in the war 
just concluded in Europe were the best expedients 
in those days, and Captain Mafftt’s ship was saved 
by following a zig-zag course, which kept the enemy 
guessing, and finally eluded him altogether. It was 
after these strenuous experiences of the morning 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 145 


that the lookout announced to the weary officer, 
“A burning vessel reported aloft.” 

Surely this was a challenge to the chivalry and 
humanity of the captain of the hard-pressed Con- 
federate. To the perils of adventure that de- 
manded all his wit and courage were now added the 
perils of the unknown and the perils of delay and 
risk to the inflammable cargo. Plainly, however, it 
was a duty to be faced, not a danger to be evaded, 
and the captain ordered his ship’s course in the di- 
rection of the burning vessel. When near enough 
to discern her character, it was perceived that she 
was a Spanish barque with ensign at half-mast. 
From her fore hatch arose a dense smoke, abaft 
were gathered panic-stricken passengers and crew. 
The chief mate was dispatched in a cutter to render 
what assistance might be necessary, and he found 
on boarding the foreign barque that there were four 
ladies among the few passengers, and these were 
calmer than the officers and crew. ‘The latter had 
completely lost their heads, and in the very act of 
lowering the long boat were confusedly hauling 
upon the stay tackle. The Confederate mate went 
at once to the forecastle, which he instantly deluged 
with water, to the astonishment of the Spaniards, 
who had not thought of this method of dealing with 


146 DERELICTS 


the fire which proved so effectual in this case that 
the flames were soon under control and the fire 
quickly extinguished. 

Three of the ladies were natives of Marblehead, 
returning from a visit to their uncle in Cuba. They 
became quite confidential in explaining to the mate 
their great fears of being captured by Confederate 
buccaneers with which the waters were infested, ac- 
cording to Cuban rumors. On leaving the boat 
after rendering this important service, the mate 
could not refrain from declaring himself one of 
those awful Confederate slave owners which were 
the terror of the high seas, but he did not add, as 
he well might have done, that he was also an officer 
in command of one of the blockade runners which 
they so greatly feared. Their amazement was great 
enough without this bit of information, which might 
have been passed on by them and given aid and 
comfort to the enemy. 

As the Confederate came into the waters off the 
coast of North Carolina the dangers were mate- 
rially increased, because all beacon lights were nat- 
urally shrouded to prevent disclosures to the enemy. 
Ten miles from the bar one of the officers reported 
to Captain Mafftt his fear that they were in the 
proximity of the blockaders. The atmosphere was 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 147 


very hazy and to this they owed the possibility of 
escape, for two cruisers were at anchor just ahead 
of them and there was no course to pursue except 
the perilous one of running between the enemy 
ships. The Federals were immediately aware of 


_ this daring maneuver, and a fiery rocket revealed the 


Confederate and the moment’s flare of a calcium 
light was followed by the curt demand of a Fed- 
eral officer, ‘‘Heave to, or I’ll sink you.” 

In this case discretion was the better part of 
valor, and Captain Maffitt gave the order in a 
voice loud enough to be heard by foe as well as 
friend. Assured that the Confederate captain was 
complying with orders, the enemy did not suspect 
that the order that had been so plainly heard was 
merely a ruse and that the engineer had received 
whispered instructions, ‘Full speed ahead, sir, and 
open your throttle valve.”” The movements of the 
paddle deceived the Federals into the belief that the 
Confederate was really backing, but just as the ad- 
vantage was with the blockade runner and her clever 
scheme was detected, fire was opened upon her with 
relentless fury. Drummond lights were burned, 
doubtless to aid the artilleryists, but so radiated the 
mist as to raise the hull above the line of vision, 
and the destructive missiles were poured into the 


a a 


148 DERELICTS 


sparse rigging and the hull was spared injury. 
Thus the blockade runner escaped from the foe and 
delivered 900 barrels of gunpowder to the Confed- 
erates at Wilmington, and this ammunition was 
used afterwards by General Johnston at the battle 
of Shiloh. 


A Human DERELICT. 


The story of disasters on Cape Fear during the 
Federal blockade, 1861-1865, would be incomplete 
without reference to a human tragedy, the drown- 
ing of an accomplished Southern woman, Mrs. 
Rose O’Neal Greenhow. Mrs. Greenhow was a 
prominent figure in Washington society during the 
Buchanan administration. She had become a resi- 
dent of Washington in her girlhood, and had grown 
to womanhood under the influences which are thrown 
around the society element in the Nation’s Capital. 
She was rich, beautiful, and attractive, possessing a 
ready wit and a charming and forceful personality. 
She was a close personal friend of President Bu- 
chanan and a friend of William H. Seward. With 
such friends her social position was of the highest, 
and she entertained many of the most prominent 
men in the country in her hospitable home. 


. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 149 


When the War between the States began she was 
entertaining Col. Thomas Jordan, later Adjutant 
General of the Confederate Army. Knowing well 
Mrs. Greenhow’s strong sympathy for the land of 
her birth, Colonel Jordan determined to secure her 
services for the newborn Confederacy, and pro- 
posed to her that she become a secret agent for his 
government. Her social position, her wide ac- 
quaintance, her personal magnetism made her pre- 
eminently the one to extract information of mili- 
tary value for the Southern cause. Mrs. Greenhow 
consented to perform this perilous service for the 
land she loved, and started at once to get posses- 
sion of facts which would be useful in the coming 
campaign. 

She began her work in April, 1861, and by No- 
vember Allan Pinkerton, head of the Federal Se- 
cret Service, sent in a report to the War Depart- 
ment vehemently inveighing against Mrs. Rose 
Greenhow for alienating the hearts of Federal off- 
cers from their sympathy with their country, and 
accusing her of obtaining through her wiles and 
powerful personal methods memoranda (and maps) 
which could only have been known to officials of the 
Federal Government. 


150 DERELICTS 


When the cry “On to Richmond!” was raised, it 
was absolutely essential for the Confederate Army 
under General Beauregard to have definite infor- 
mation about the point of attack. This data was 
furnished him by Mrs. Greenhow. She advised 
him that the enemy would adyance across the Po- 
tomac and on Manassas, via Fairfax Court House 
and Centerville. 

The Federal Army delayed the advance, and a 
second messenger was sent to Mrs. Greenhow, who 
was able to add to her previous information, and 
on the strength of it Johnston was ordered to re- 
énforce Beauregard with the last of his 8,500 men, 
and the wavering Federal Army turned back and 
fled in a rout—a mob of panic-stricken fugitives. 
It was soon known in Washington that Mrs. Green- 
how had supplied the information upon which the 
Confederates had constructed their plans, and she 
was closely watched. Long after she knew that she 
must some day be arrested, she continued her ace 
tivities, finding opportunities every day to commu. 
nicate with Confederate officers, and her services 
were so valuable that she could not be persuaded to 
take refuge in the Confederate lines when there 
was so much work for her to do in the Federal 
Capital. 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 151 


She was in her own home when she was finally 
placed under arrest. Here she was closely guarded, 
but a friend and her little daughter were permitted 
to remain with her. In spite of the heavy guard, 
she continued to comunicate with Southern messen- 
gers and kept them informed of what she heard. 
After a few months she was transferred to the Old 
Capitol Prison and kept in confinement with her 
child in a room 10 by 12. She suffered keenly in 
this cold and cheerless place. The soldiers who 
guarded her were very strict, but in spite of their 
closest scrutiny she managed under their very eyes 
to send messages to the people who were eagerly 
awaiting news of her on the other side of the lines. 
After tedious months of imprisonment she was tried* 
on the charge of treason. There was much direct 
and indirect evidence against her, but her attitude 
was uncompromising, and after the trial she was 
permitted to make her way through the lines to 
Richmond, where she spent some time until she 
took passage in a blockade runner with her daugh- 
ter, whom she wished to place in a convent in Paris. 
She took with her letters to Mason and Slidell, 
which requested that every courtesy be shown her. 


*There are no formal records available to verify this. 


152 DERELICTS 


In Paris she was given a private audience with 
Napoleon III. 

While Mrs. Greenhow was in England her book, 
My Imprisonment, or The First Year of Abolition 
Rule in Washington, was published and created a 
sensation. It was a vehicle for the most pro- 
nounced propaganda for the cause of the Confed- 
eracy and served it well. Not a little sympathy was 
created for the South by this book of personal 
experience. 

While in London Mrs. Greenhow became en- 
gaged to a nobleman and she expected to return 
and marry him after a voyage to America. In Au- 
gust, 1864, she took passage on the Condor and 
there is strong reason to suppose that her business 
in Wilmington was in the interests of the Confed- 
eracy. 

The Condor arrived opposite the mouth of the 
river on the night of September 30, but as she crept 
up the river, the pilot saw an object about 200 yards 
from shore which he thought was an enemy vessel, 
and he swerved his course and ran his vessel on 
New Inlet Bar. The object was the Night Hawk, 
a blockade runner which had been run down the 
previous night, and the Condor might have com- 
pleted the trip in safety. Mrs. Greenhow and her 


DERELICT BLOCKADE RUNNERS 153 


party begged the captain to send them ashore in a 
boat, as this seemed the only chance of escape from 
a second arrest as a spy. The captain acceded to 
her request, and the boat put off. It capsized, how- 
ever, and Mrs. Greenhow, weighted by her clothing 
and a quantity of golden sovereigns, was drowned 
a few yards from land. 

Her body washed ashore the next day and was 
found by Mr. Thomas E. Taylor, who afterwards 
took it to Wilmington. She was laid out in the Sea- 
men’s Bethel, beautiful in death as she had been in 
life. She was wrapped in the Confederate flag and 
with full honors of war interred in Oakdale Ceme- 
tery, where a small cross bearing her name may be 
seen to this day. 

After the funeral her personal effects and the 
articles she had brought with her from abroad were 
sold at public auction. It was said that an English 
countess or duchess had an interest in the specula- 
tion and was to have shared the profits. 


Wor ny 


Mien 


A CONFEDERATE DAUGHTER. 


The following extract from Southern Historical 
Papers, written about the year 1890, by Colonel 
Lamb, the commander of Fort Fisher, gives a 
glimpse of the social side of life at the fort during 
the War between the States and of some of the dis- 
tinguished gentlemen who were drawn into this dan- 
gerous traffic by a love of adventure, by sentiment, 
or by sympathy with the Confederate cause, and by 
the promise of large profits for successful enter- 
prises. 

“In the fall of 1857 a lovely Puritan maiden, still 
in her teens, was married in Grace Church, Provi- 
dence, R. I., to a Virginia youth, just passed his 
majority, who brought her to his home in Norfolk, 
a typical ancestral homestead, where, beside the 
‘white folks,’ there was quite a colony of family 
servants, from the pickaninny just able to crawl to 
the old gray-headed mammy who had nursed ‘ole 
massa.’ She soon became enamoured of her sur- 
roundings and charmed with the devotion of her 
colored maid, whose sole duty it was to wait upon 


157 


158 DERELICTS 


her young missis. When the John Brown raid 
burst upon the South and her husband was ordered 
to Harpers Ferry, there was not a more indignant 
matron in all Virginia, and when at last secession 
came, the South did not contain a more enthusiastic 
little rebel. 

“On the 15th of May, 1862, a few days after 
the surrender of Norfolk to the Federals by her 
father-in-law, then mayor, amid the excitement at- 
tending a captured city, her son Willie was born. 
Cut off from her husband and subjected to the pri- 
vations and annoyances incident to a subjugated 
community, her father insisted upon her coming 
with her children to his home in Providence; but, 
notwithstanding she was in a luxurious home with 
all that paternal love could do for her, she pre- 
ferred to leave all these comforts to share with her 
husband the dangers and privations of the South. 
She vainly tried to persuade Stanton, Secretary of 
War, to let her and her three children with a nurse 
return to the South; finally he consented to let her 
go by flag of truce from Washington to City Point, 
but without a nurse, and as she was unable to man- 
age three little ones, she left the youngest with his 
grandparents, and with two others bravely set out 
for Dixie. The generous outfit of every descrip- 


A CONFEDERATE DAUGHTER 159 


tion which was prepared for the journey, and which 
was carried to the place of embarkation, was ruth- 
lessly cast aside by the inspectors on the wharf, and 
no tears or entreaties or offers of reward by the 
parents availed to pass anything save a scanty sup- 
ply of clothing and other necessaries. Arriving in 
the South, the brave young mother refused the 
proffer of a beautiful home in Wilmington, the oc- 
cupancy of the grand old colonial mansion Orton, 
on the Cape Fear River, and insisted upon taking 
up her abode with her children and their colored 
nurse in the upper room of a pilot’s house, where 
they lived until the soldiers of the garrison built her 
a cottage one mile north of Fort Fisher, on the At- 
lantic Beach. In both of these homes she was oc- 
casionally exposed to the shot and shell fired from 
blockaders at belated blockade runners. 

“Tt was a quaint abode, constructed in most primi- 
tive style, with three rooms around one big chimney, 
in which North Carolina pine knots supplied heat 
and light on winter nights. This cottage became 
historic, and was famed for the frugal but tempting 
meals which its charming hostess would prepare for 
her distinguished guests. Besides the many illus- 
trious Confederate Army and Navy officers who 
were delighted to find this bit of sunshiny civiliza- 


160 DERELICTS 


tion on the wild sandy beach, ensconced among the 
sand dunes and straggling pines and _ black-jack, 
many celebrated English naval officers enjoyed its 
hospitality under assumed names: Roberts, after- 
wards the renowned Hobart Pasha, who com- 
manded the Turkish Navy; Murray, now Admiral 
Murray-Aynsley, long since retired after having 
been rapidly promoted for gallantry and meritori- 
ous services in the British Navy; the brave but un- 
fortunate Hugh Burgoyne, V. C., who went down 
in the British iron-clad Captain, in the Bay of Bis- 
cay; and the chivalrous Hewett, who won the Vic- 
toria Cross in the Crimea and was knighted for his 
services as ambassador to King John of Abyssinia, 
and who, after commanding the Queen’s yacht, died 
lamented as Admiral Hewett. Besides these there 
were many genial and gallant merchant captains, 
among them Halpin, who afterwards commanded 
the Great Eastern while laying ocean cables; and 
famous war correspondents—Hon. Francis C. Law- 
ley, M. P., correspondent of the London Times, and 
Frank Vizetelly, of the London Illustrated News, 
afterwards murdered in the Soudan. Nor must the 
plucky Tom Taylor be forgotten, supercargo of the 
Banshee and the Night Hawk, who, by his coolness 
and daring escaped with a boat’s crew from the 


A CONFEDERATE DAUGHTER 161 


hands of the Federals after capture off the fort, 
and who was endeared to the children as the Santa 
Claus of the war. 

“At first the little Confederate was satisfied with 
pork and potatoes, cornbread and rye coffee, with 
sorghum sweetening; but after the blockade runners 
made her acquaintance the impoverished storeroom 
was soon filled to overflowing, notwithstanding her 
heavy requisitions on it for the post hospital, the 
sick and wounded soldiers and sailors always being 
a subject of her tenderest solicitude, and often the 
hard-worked and poorly fed colored hands blessed 
the little lady of the cottage for a tempting treat. 

“Full of stirring events were the two years passed 
in the cottage on Confederate Point. The drown- 
ing of Mrs. Rose Greenhow, the famous Confed- 
erate spy, off Fort Fisher, and the finding of her 
body, which was tenderly cared for, and the rescue 
from the waves, half dead, of Professor Holcombe, 
and his restoration, were incidents never to be for- 
gotten. Her fox hunting with horse and hounds, 
the narrow escapes of friendly vessels, the fights 
over blockade runners driven ashore, the execution 
of deserters, and the loss of an infant son, whose 
little spirit went out with the tide one sad summer 
night, all contributed to the reality of this roman- 
tic life. 


162 DERELICTS 


‘When Porter’s fleet appeared off Fort Fisher, 
December, 1864, it was storm bound for several 
days, and the little family with their household 
goods were sent across the river to Orton before 
Butler’s powder ship blew up. After the Christmas 
victory over Porter and Butler, the little heroine 
insisted upon coming back to her cottage, although 
_her husband had procured a home of refuge in 
Cumberland County. General Whiting protested 
against her running the risk, for on dark nights 
her husband could not leave the fort, but she said if 
the firing became too hot she would run behind the 
sand hills as she had done before, and come she 
would. 

“The fleet reappeared unexpectedly on the night 
of the 12th of January, 1865. It was a dark night, 
and when the lights of the fleet were reported her 
husband sent a courier to the cottage to instruct her 
to pack up quickly and be prepared to leave with 
children and nurse as soon as he could come to bid 
them good-bye. The garrison barge, with a trusted 
crew, was stationed at Craig’s Landing, near the 
cottage. After midnight, when all necessary orders 
were given for the coming attack, the colonel 
mounted his horse and rode to the cottage, but all 
was dark and silent. He found the message had 


+ 


A CONFEDERATE DAUGHTER 163 


been delivered, but his brave wife had been so un- 
disturbed by the news that she had fallen asleep 
and no preparations for a retreat had been made. 
Precious hours had been lost, and as the fleet would 
soon be shelling the beach and her husband have to 
return to the fort, he hurried them into the boat as 
soon as dressed, with only what could be gathered 
up hastily, leaving dresses, toys, and household ar- 
ticles to fall into the hands of the foe.” 

Mr. Thomas E. Taylor’s description of the fa- 
mous Englishmen referred to is worth repeating: 

“As my memory takes me back to those jovial 
but hard-working days of camaraderie, it is melan- 
choly to think how many of those friends have gone 
before; Mrs. Murray-Aynsley, Mrs. Hobart and 
her husband, Hobart Pasha; Hugh Burgoyne, one 
of the Navy’s brightest ornaments, who was drowned 
while commanding the ill-fated Captain; Hewett, 
who lately gave up command of the Channel Fleet 
only to die; old Steele, the king of blockade-running 
captains; Maurice Portman, an_ ex-diplomatist; 
Frank Vizetelly, whose bones lie alongside those of 
Hicks Pasha in the Soudan; Lewis Grant Watson, 
my brother agent; Arthur Doering, one of my loyal 
lieutenants, and a host of old Confederate friends, 
are all gone, and I could count on my fingers those 


164 DERELICTS 


remaining of a circle of chums who did not know 
what care or fear was, and who would have stood 
by each other through thick and thin in any emer- 
gency. In fact, my old friends Admiral Murray- 
Aynsley and Frank Hurst are almost the only two 
living of that companionship. 

“Of Hobart Pasha and of the important part he 
played in the Turko-Russian war and Cretan rebel- 
lion (in which he acknowledged that his blockade- 
running experiences stood him in such good stead) 
most, if not all my readers will have read or heard. 
He commanded a smart little twin-screw steamer 
called the Don, in fact one of the first twin-propeller 
steamers ever built. And very proud he was of his 
craft, in which he made several successful runs un- 
der the assumed name of Captain Roberts. On her 
first trip after Captain Roberts gave up command 
in order to go home, the Don was captured after a 
long chase, and his late chief officer, who was then 
in charge, was assumed by his captors to be Roberts. 
He maintained silence concerning the point, and the 
Northern newspapers upon the arrival of the prize 
at Philadelphia were full of the subject of the ‘Cap- 
ture of the Don and the notorious English naval off- 
cer, ‘‘Captain Roberts.” ’ Much chagrined were 
they to find they had got the wrong man, and that 
the English naval officer was still at large. 


A CONFEDERATE DAUGHTER 165 


“Poor Burgoyne, whose tragic and early end, 
owing to the capsizing of the Captain, everybody 
deplored, as a blockade runner was not very suc- 
cessful. If I remember correctly he made only two 
or three trips. Had he lived he would have had a 
brilliant career before him in the Navy; bravest of 
the brave, as is evidenced by the V. C. he wore, 
gentle as a woman, unselfish to a fault, he might 
have saved his life if he had thought more of him- 
self and less of his men on that terrible occasion 
off Finisterre, when his last words were, ‘Look out 
for yourselves, men; never mind me.’ | 

“Then there was Hewett, another wearer of the 
‘cross for valor,’ who has only recently joined the 
majority, after a brilliant career as admiral com- 
manding in the East Indies, Red Sea, and Channel 
Fleet; who successfully interviewed King John in 
Abyssinia, and was not content to pace the deck of 
his flagship at Suakim, but insisted upon fighting in 
the square at El Teb, and whose hospitality and 
geniality later on as commander in chief of the 
Channel Fleet was proverbial. 

“Murray-Aynsley, I rejoice to say, is still alive.* 
Who that knows ‘old Murray’ does not love him? 
Gentle as a child, brave as a lion, a man without 


*They are all gone now.—J. S. 


166 DERELICTS 


guile, he was perhaps the most successful of all the 
naval blockade runners. In the Venus he had many 
hairbreadth escapes, notably on one occasion when 
he ran the gauntlet of the Northern fleet in daylight 
into Wilmington. The Venus, hotly pursued by sev- 
eral blockaders and pounded at by others, while she 
steamed straight through them, old Murray on the ) 
bridge, with his coat sleeves hitched up almost to 
his arm-pits—a trick he had when greatly excited— 
otherwise as cool as possible, was, as Lamb after- 
wards told me, ‘a sight never to be forgotten.’ ” 


INTELLIGENT CONTRABANDS. 


An almost daily incident of the Federal blockad- 
ing fleet was the rescue from frail boats of negro 
slaves, officially reported by the Federals as “‘intel- 
” who at the risk of their lives 
deserted their owners and escaped to the Federal! 
warships several miles from the beach. They num- 
bered several hundred during the war, and I am 
informed that very few of them returned from the 
North, where many settled in their new-found free- 
dom. Some of the more industrious prospered, but 
a larger proportion died from exposure to the rig- 
orously cold winters of the North. 


ligent contrabands, 


Specimens of the official reports of such cases 
follow: 
“U.S. S. ‘MONTICELLO,’ 
“Orr WILMINGTON, N. C., 
“September 22, 1862. 
“Sir: I beg leave to forward you the following 
information obtained from the within named per- 
sons, who came off to this vessel this morning: 
“Frank Clinton, aged thirty-five years, belonging 
to Robert H. Cowan. 


167 


168 DERELICTS 


“Samuel Mince, aged twenty-three years, belong- 
ing to Mrs. Elizabeth Mints. 

‘Thomas Cowen, aged twenty-four years, belong- 
ing to Mrs. J. G. Wright. 

“Charles Millett, aged twenty-eight years, belong- 
ing to Mrs. John Walker. 

‘James Brown, aged twenty-three years, belong- 
ing to John Brown. 

“Horace Smith, aged twenty-two years, belong- 
ing to Mrs. William Smith. 

“David Mallett, aged twenty-six years, belonging 
to Mrs. John Walker. 

“The gunboat North Carolina is to be launched 
next Saturday and is to be clad with railroad iron 
down to the water’s edge. The sides of the boat 
are built angular, and the guns are to be mounted 
on a covered deck. ‘The lower part of the hull is 
of pine and the upper of heavy oak. This vessel 
is to be fitted up by Mr. Benjamin Beery and the 
engine she is to have is to come out of the steamer 
Uncle Ben, formerly a tugboat. The contrabands 
state that they are sanguine of having her ready by 
the roth of October, 1862. These contrabands are 
from in and about Wilmington city, and they all 
agree in stating that that city is completely en- 
trenched and guns mounted at every half mile upon 


INTELLIGENT CONTRABANDS 169 


the works. From their account Cape Fear River 
has several batteries upon its banks. The first is 
called Camp Brown, two miles from the city, which 
is an earth and log work on the right-hand side 
going up the river, and mounts two guns; opposite 
to it are obstructions in the river, consisting of 
sunken cribs. The next fort below is called Mount 
Tirza and mounts two guns and is on the same 
side of the river. The next is Fort St. Philip, 
a large work, mounting sixteen guns, near Old 
Brunswick, on the left-hand side of the river going 
up. Opposite this last-named work the obstruc- 
tions in the river are heavy piles with a narrow 
passageway through them. At this point the light- 
boat, which was taken from Frying Pan Shoals, is 
anchored inside the obstruction and mounts four 
guns. There is also a lightboat anchored inside 
Zeek’s Island, mounting a like number of guns. 
One of these contrabands is from Fayetteville, N. 
C., and states that they are making rifles and gun 
carriages up there, and also that they are building 
a large foundry and blacksmith’s shop. As fast as 
the arms are completed they are sent to Raleigh, 
North Carolina. 

“These contrabands state that the rebels suc- 
ceeded in getting out of the Modern Greece (which 


170 DERELICTS 


vessel was run ashore near New Inlet) six rifled 
cannon, which, from their description, I should judge 
to be Whitworth’s breech-loading guns; also 500 
stand of arms and a large amount of powder and 
clothing, the last two in a damaged condition. One 
also states that the steamer Kate, before running into 
this port, was chased by a cruiser and threw over- 
board 10,000 stand of arms. This he is positive 
of, as one of the hands on board the Kate, a friend 
of his, told him so. From their accounts I judge 
that a regular and uninterrupted trade is kept up be- 
tween Nassau, New Providence, and Shallotte In- 
let, N. C., which inlet is about 20 miles to the west- 
ward of this place. Schooners are said to arrive 
here weekly, and, after discharging, take in cotton, 
turpentine, and rosin, and sail for Nassau with 
papers purporting that they sailed from the city of 
Wilmington. I would suggest that some means be 
taken to stop this trade, and I am, 
“Very respectfully, 
“Your obedient servant, 
“D. L. BRAINE, 
“Lieutenant-Commander. 
“Commander G. H. Scorrt, 
“Comdg. U. S. S. ‘Maratanza,’ 
“Off Western Bar, Cape Fear River.” 


INTELLIGENT CONTRABANDS 171 


“U. S. GunBoaT ‘PENOBSCOT,’ 
“Orr Cape Fear, N. C., 
“September 23, 1862. 

“Sir: I have to inform you that seven contra- 
bands came to this vessel this morning who gave 
their own and their masters’ names as follows: 

“William, owned by S. G. Northrop, of Wil- 
mington. 

“Lewis, owned by Dr. McCrea, of Wilmington. 

“Ben Greer, owned by P. K. Dickinson, of Wil- 
mington. 

“George, owned by T. D. Walker, of Wilming- 
ton. 

“Virgil Richardson, owned by James Bradley. 

“Abraham Richardson, owned by D. A. F. Flem- 
ming. 

“No information of importance was elicited, ex- 
cept that the steamer Mariner, loaded with cotton, 
tobacco, and turpentine, was ready for sea and 
would make an early attempt to run the blockade 
of this port. 

“T am, respectfully, 

“Your obedient servant, 
“J. M. B. Crirz, 
“Commander. 
“Commander G. H. Scortr, 


“Commanding U. S. S. ‘Maratanza,’ 
“And Senior Officer Present.” 


7 ee 
, Ae 


172 DERELICTS 


“From William Robins, contraband, ship carpen- 
ter, who has been at work upon one of the rebel 
gunboats at Wilmington since July: 

“rt, There are two boats in process of construc- 
tion; one at J. L. Cassidy & Sons, the other at Beery 
& Brothers. Captain Whitehead superintends the 
former and Mr. Williams the latter. Commander 
Muse has control of the whole. Both boats are 
built upon the same plan, 150 feet keel, 23 feet 
beam, 12 feet draft. They are to be iron-roofed 
like the Merrimac. The iron is to be made in 
Richmond and will be ready in four months. The 
engines are on board but not set. One of them is 
new, made at Richmond; the other was taken from 
the Uncle Ben. Propellers are about eight feet in 
diameter. ‘The boats are pierced for eight guns, 
but will carry but three, which can be moved at 
ease. Guns are not yet ready. Boats would have 
been ready for launching in three weeks had not 
many of the workmen left. Some struck for more 
pay; some were fearful of yellow fever. Formerly 
ninety-five to one hundred were at work on each 
boat; now only thirty. Pay $2.50 to $3. 

“9. Provisions scarce. Flour, $27; rice, 1214 
cents; potatoes, $3.50 to $4; bacon, 50 cents; beef, 
25 cents; meal, $2; butter, 85 cents to $1. 


INTELLIGENT CONTRABANDS 173 


“3. There are no soldiers in Wilmington. Col- 


onel Livingsthrop (Leventhorpe), with one regi- 
ment, is at Masonboro Sound. There are about 
3,000 in all in this vicinity. Colonel Lamb is at 
Fort Fisher. Captain Dudley evacuated Zeek’s 
Island and is now at Fort Fisher. 

“4. Friday last was set apart by President 
Davis as a day for thanksgiving and prayer for 
the victories before Richmond and in Maryland, as 
also for the capture of Harpers Ferry and Cincin- 
nati, both of which were taken without the loss of 
a life. ; 

“5. No vessel has run in or out of the port since 
the Modern Greece except the Kate. The Modern 
Greece had two shots through her boiler, and one 
through her donkey engine. Her cargo consisted 
of powder and arms and whisky. Much was taken 
out and much remains. Powder was all wet. They 
dried some of it. She had two heavy guns. She 
was a very fine steamer. They saved none of her 
machinery. 

“The Kate ran in and out the main channel. The 
tug Mariner is now ready to run out, having 100 
bales of cotton and 100 barrels of rosin. They say 
a schooner ran in at Little River Inlet not long ago. 
The Mariner is going to Nassau for salt.” 


174 DERELICTS 


Information given by Colonel Shaw’s body 
servant: 

“Thirty-five hundred troops (a large margin 
given) in and about Wilmington, including all the 
forts, under the command of General Leventhorpe. 
At present most of the soldiers have left Wilming- 
ton and moved down this way on account of yellow 
fever. There are about 800 at Fort Caswell, and 
about double the number at Fort Fisher. The 
troops are clothed, very dirty, but apparently are 
sufficiently fed. Provisions come to them from the 
country. They enlist from fourteen to fifty years 
of age. Many of the conscripts run away; 300 have 
deserted in one day. Have telegrams from Rich- 
mond, but they are in doubt about the entire cor- 
‘rectness of such. Previous to the battles before 
Richmond the people were quite disheartened and 
were willing to give up the place; since, however, 
they are much encouraged, and a better feeling per- 
vades. There are some Union men in W. Not 
any small craft at W. The two gunboats, not rams, 
are being completed; workmen from the army. 
One engine is new from Richmond; the other old 
from Uncle Ben, and each boat will mount three 
guns on a side; also one forward and one aft. The 
tug Mariner is prepared to run for Nassau. Has 
two guns; is loaded with cotton. Flour is $30 per 


INTELLIGENT CONTRABANDS 175 


barrel; whisky $15 a gallon; boots $20 a pair. 
Have grown some corn about W. this season. No 
business doing. Clerks all enlisted. The fort’s 
southwest breastworks were injured by the Otorara; 
no one killed. Beauregard at Charleston, and 
Lieut. Commander Flusser, who ought to have left 
out the ‘l’ in his name, said: ‘A “reliable contra- 
band” who says he deserted from the enemy today 
and who represents himself as an officer’s servant, 
declares that he has heard of no boat building up 
this river; that he does not believe that there is one 
there; that one was some time since under construc- 
tion at Tarboro, but that work on her has been dis- 
continued,’ etc. I fear the ‘reliable contraband’ was 
sent in by Messieurs les Secesh. I do not think any- 
one can outlie a North Carolina white, unless he be 
a North Carolina negro.” 

Also there were occasional white deserters from 
Fort Fisher and from the out-lying Confederate 
camps or outposts. These were not named for ob- 
vious reasons, and they were described in the off- 
cial reports as so ragged and so infested with vermin 
that they had to be immediately divested of their 
clothing, which was thrown overboard, and the de- 
serters were clothed from the ships’ supply chests. 
As cleanliness is said to be next to godliness, it 
is manifest that these fellows were a very bad lot. 


MALINGERERS. 


It is remarkable that the blockade runners seldom 
included in their complement of officers and crew 
a professional doctor or surgeon, although there 
were occasions when they were greatly needed. Few 
of our men were wounded, although the bombshells 
burst all round us again and again and finally sunk 
the Lilian to a level with the deck. 

The runs from Wilmington to Nassau were made 
in forty-eight to fifty-two hours, and to Bermuda 
in seventy-two to eighty hours, and the sick or 
wounded received scant attention until they reached 
port. It therefore devolved upon the purser or the 
chief officer to attend such cases, and my very lim- 
ited knowledge of medicine restricted the treatment 
of our alleged sick men to compound cathartic pills 
and quinine. A majority of the cases of “pains 
all over them”’ were malingerers, some of whom 
dodged their duty during the entire voyage. Cap- 
tain Hobart, of the Don, told us of such a case on 


his ship interviewed by his chief officer, C , as 
follows: 


177 


178 DERELICTS 
C.: “Well, my man, what’s the matter with 
you?” 


Patient: ‘Please, sir, I’ve got pains all over 
me.” 

C.: “Oh, all over you, are they? That’s bad.” 

Then during the pause it was evident that some- 
thing was being mixed up, and I could hear C 
say: ‘Here, take this, and come again in the eve- 
ning.” (Exit patient.) 

Then C said to himself: ‘‘I don’t think he’ll 
come again; he has got two drops of the croton. 
Skulking rascal, pains all over him, eh?” 


“T never heard the voice of that patient again,” 
said Captain Hobart; “‘in fact, after a short time we 
had no cases of sickness on board.” 

C explained that what he served out, as he 
called it, was croton oil; and that none of the crew 
came twice for treatment. 


The ship’s discipline was generally well main- 
tained at sea, but instances of insubordination in 
port were of almost daily occurrence. These were 
dealt with usually by the first mate, or, as he was 
designated, the chief officer. But some of the in- 
corrigibles were brought before the commander for 
treatment and something like this colloquy, which 
I take partly from Punch, would ensue: 


ee 


MALI NGERERS 179 


Commander: ‘‘What is this man’s character 
apart from this offence?” | 

Petty Officer: “Well, sir, this here man, he 
goes ashore when he likes, he comes aboard when 
he likes, he uses ’orrible language when he’s spoke 
to. In fact from his general behavior he might be 
taken for the captain of this ship,’ which exactly 
fitted the case of our skipper at that time, who was 
an expert in the use of ’orrible language. 


EXPERIENCES IN QUARANTINE. 


Eluding the blockading fleet at the Cape Fear 
Bar was not the only adventure in those perilous 
days. It was quite within the range of possibility 
that a steamer would run into a harbor and find the 
town, hitherto perfectly healthy, withered under 
the malign spell of some scourge like yellow fever 
or smallpox. Sometimes the plague would break 
out in the town while the steamer was loading, 
sometimes it would break out among the crew of 
the steamer, and this is what was alleged of the 
Lilian on the occasion I am about to relate. 

After several narrow escapes from the squadron 
in the Gulf Stream, the Lilian made St. George, 
Bermuda, on the morning of the fourth day, and at 
once discharged her cargo, hoping to get away in 
time for another run while we had a few hours of 
darkness. 

We had, however, hardly received the half of 
our inward cargo of gunpowder and commissary 
supplies when we were visited by the harbor doc- 
tor, who alleged that we had a case of smallpox 


181 


182 DERELICTS 


on board and peremptorily ordered us to the quar- 
antine ground, about two miles out of port, among 
some uninhabited rocks, which made the usual 
dreariness of a quarantine station more distressing, 
and where he informed us we must remain at least 
twenty-one days. In vain our captain protested 
that he was mistaken, that the case to which he re- 
ferred was a slight attack of malarial fever, com- 
bined with other symptoms which were not at all 
dangerous (which subsequently proved to be true). 
The doctor was unrelenting; if we did not proceed 
at once, he said, he would report us to the gov- 
ernor at Hamilton, who would send H. M. S. Spit- 
fire, then on the station, to tow us out, and after 
we had served our quarantine, we would be arrested 
for resisting his authority. Finding remonstrance 
of no avail, our captain agreed to get away as soon 
as possible, but before we could make preparation 
for our departure a tug was sent alongside which 
towed us out, nolens volens, and left us at anchor 
among the sea gulls, with only ten days’ provisions 
for a three weeks’ quarantine. 

Being ex officio the ship’s doctor, I began at once 
to physic the unfortunate sailor who had unwit- 
tingly brought us into this trouble, and, although 
my knowledge of the pharmacopeia did not go be- 


EXPERIENCES IN QUARANTINE 183 


yond cathartic pills and quinine, I soon had him on 
his feet to join all hands for inspection by the quar- 
antine officer, who came off to windward of us every 
day and at a respectable distance bawled out his 
category of questions which were required by law. 

We were daily warned that if any of our officers 
or crew were found on shore or on board any of 
the vessels in the harbor, the full extent of the law 
would be meted out to them, and we were given to 
understand that twenty-one days’ quarantine was a 
mere bagatelle compared with the punishment which 
would follow any attempt to evade these restric- 
tions; notwithstanding which, we came to a unani- 
mous decision at the end of three days that we 
would prefer the risk of capture at sea to such a life 
in comparative security, and it was accordingly re- 
solved by the captain that if any of us were plucky 
enough to take his gig and a boat’s crew to St. 
George and secure some castings at a shipsmith’s 
on shore which were required by the chief engineer, 
we would proceed toward Wilmington without fur- 
ther preparation and without the formality required 
by law. 

Being comparatively indifferent as to the result, 
albeit somewhat confident of success, I at once vol- 
unteered, to which our captain agreed, and amid 


184 DERELICTS 


a good deal of chafing from several Confederate 
oficers who were with us as passengers, I started 
with our second engineer and five trustworthy men 
for the shore. 

We were careful to leave shortly after the visit 
of the health physician, so that our absence would 
not be noticed when all hands were turned out, and 
as we approached the harbor I was gratified to ob- 
serve that we were entirely unnoticed. We landed 
about half a mile below the town, and leaving the 
men with the boat, which I ordered them to keep 
concealed, I proceeded with the engineer to dis- 
patch our business, which delayed us several hours. 

At last we were ready for the return, and find- 
ing our men unmolested, we proceeded down the 
harbor toward the ship Storm King, which had 
recently left the China trade to carry Confederate 
States Government cotton from the Bermuda ren- 
dezvous to Liverpool. As we passed under her 
quarter, we were excitedly hailed by her captain, 
to whom I was well known personally, with the in- 
telligence that a quarantine boat had just left our 
ship and that we were probably discovered, as its 
course had been suddenly changed for us while we 
were pulling down the bay. 


EXPERIENCES IN QUARANTINE 185 


Thinking to elude the pursuer, if such it proved 
to be, I steered for the rocks along shore, the men 
giving way at the oars with a will, but we soon saw 
that we were closely watched and that our friend’s 
fears were fully realized. The well-known yellow 
flag was borne by a boat now clearly in pursuit of us; 
and, finding escape cut off, we at once returned to 
the Storm King and entreated the captain to secrete 
us on board, and if the health officer boarded him, 
to profess ignorance of us altogether. This the 
good fellow agreed to do, and my men having been 
set to work as if they were part of the crew, I, with 
the engineer, was at once secreted and locked in one 
of the many staterooms then empty. 

We had hardly settled ourselves in the berths, 
determined that if the worst came we would cover 
up our heads and draw the curtains, when we heard 
the measured sound of oars approaching the gang- 
way near the room in which we were hiding, and a 
moment later the hail, “Storm King ahoy!” ‘Aye, 
aye, sir; what do you want?” 

“You have on board a boat’s crew from the 
steamer Lilian in quarantine, who have left con- 
trary to law. I demand their surrender.” 

“Quite a mistake, Doctor; quite a mistake, I as- 
responded Captain McDonald. 


’ 


sure you,’ 


186 DERELICTS 


“But I saw the boat pull under your quarter a 
few minutes ago, and I insist upon their forthcom- 
ing, or we will search your ship.” 

“But I protest, Doctor, there are no such people 
on board my ship.” 

‘““What a consummate liar old McDonald is,” 
groaned the engineer, sweltering under two pairs 
of blankets. 

‘Ah ha,” exclaimed the health officer at this mo- 
ment, ‘we have here the captain’s gig alongside; 
and here is the name Lilian on the stern. How is 
this?” 

“Oh,” replied the imperturbable McDonald, “we 
picked her up adrift this morning; I am glad to 
know the owner.”’ 

“A very unlikely story, Captain, and we will have 
to search,” quoth the doctor; and then we heard 
several persons ascending the ladder, followed by 
further expostulations on the part of our friend: the 
captain, evidently of no avail, for the party imme- 
diately entered the saloon and began their search. 
Door after door was opened and shut, and as they 
gradually approached our hiding place, I looked up 
at Sandy McKinnon, the Scotch engineer, who pre- 
sented a most ludicrous and woeful sight, the per- 
spiration pouring down his fat cheeks, as in a most 


EXPERIENCES IN QUARANTINE 187 


despairful voice he moaned, “It’s a’ up wi’ us the 
noo, Purser, it’s a’ up wi’ us; we shall be put in 
preeson and the deil kens what'll be to pay.” 

With anxious hearts we waited for the worst, 
and at last it came; a heavy hand wrenched our 
door knob and an impatient voice demanded that 
the door be unlocked. The steward protested that 
the room was empty and that the key was lost, 
which only seemed to increase the officer’s determi- 
nation to enter. High words ensued. The captain, 
with a heartiness which excited our admiration but 
increased our fear, poured a volley of abuse upon 
the unlucky doctor, who was apparently discharging 
his duty, and at times I fancied they had almost 
come to blows. This was at last quelled by a per- 
emptory demand that the ship’s carpenter be sent 
for to force the door. The steward at this juncture 
produced the key, which he averred had just been 
found in another lock, and while he fumbled at our 
door I thought I heard the sound of suppressed 
laughter on the outside, but dismissed the idea as 
absurd. 

A moment after the door opened, and before our 
astonished vision were ranged our good friends and 
shipmates, Major Hone of Savannah, Capt. Leo 
Vogel of St. Augustine, Sergeant Gregory of 


188 DERELICTS 


Crowels, and Eugene Mafftt, who with Captain 
McDonald and several of his friends were fairly 
shrieking with laughter at our sorry plight. We 
had been completely sold. The whole scheme was 
planned on board our own ship immediately after 
our departure, and Captain McDonald was privy 
to the arrangement which he so successfully car- 
ried out. 

The voices which we supposed in our fright came 
from Her Majesty’s officers, were feigned by our 
own people, who made the most of the joke at our 
expense. The trick was too good to keep, and when 
the good doctor came next day to discharge us 
from quarantine, all traces of sickness having dis- 
appeared, no one enjoyed the fun more than he, al- 
though he said it might have resulted seriously 
enough. 


CONFEDERATE STATES SIGNAL CORPS. 


The Confederate States Signal Corps frequently 
rendered some very efficient service to the blockade 
runners after they had succeeded in getting between 
the blockaders and the beach, where they were also 
in danger of the shore batteries until their character 
became known to the forts. 

As the signal system developed, a detailed mem- 
ber was sent out with each ship, and so important 
did this service become that signal officers, as they 
were called, were occasionally applied for by owners 
or captains of steamers in the Clyde or at Liverpool 
before sailing for Bermuda or Nassau to engage in 
running the blockade. 

The first attempt to communicate with the shore 
batteries was a failure, and consequently the service 
suffered some reproach for a while, but subsequent 
practice with intelligent, cool-headed men resulted 
in complete success, and some valuable ships, with 
still more valuable cargoes, were saved from cap- 
ture or destruction by the intervention of the signal 
service, when, owing to the darkness and bad lJand- 


189 


190 DERELICTS 


fall, the captain and pilot were alike unable to recog- 
nize their geographical position. 

To the late Mr. Frederick W. Gregory, of Cro- 
wells, N. C., belonged the honor of the first success 
as a signal operator in this service. Identified with 
the corps from the beginning of the blockade, and 
with the Cape Fear at Price’s Creek Station, which 
was for a long time in his efficient charge, he brought 
to this new and novel duty an experience and eff- 
ciency equalled by few of his colleagues and sur- 
passed by none. It was well said of him that he 
was always ready and never afraid, two elements 
of the almost unvarying success which attended the 
ships to which he was subsequently assigned. It 
was my good fortune to be intimately associated 
with Mr. Gregory for nearly two years, during 
which we had many ups and downs together as ship- 
mates aboard and as companions ashore. He was 
one of the few young men engaged in blockade run- 
ning who successfully resisted the evil influences and 
depraved associations with which we were continu- 
ally surrounded. Unselfish and honorable in all his 
relations with his fellows, courageous as a lion in 
time of danger, he was an honor to his State and to 
the cause which he so worthily represented. 


CONFEDERATE STATES SIGNAL CORPS 191 


The following narrative related by him gives a 
more explicit account of the signal service than I 
could offer by description of its workings: 

“Some time early in 1863, the Confederate Gov- 
ernment purchased on the Clyde (I think) two 
steamers for the purpose of running the blockade. 
The first to arrive was the Giraffe. While in the 
Cape Fear, Captain Alexander, who had charge of 
the signal corps at Smithville, suggested the pro- 
priety of putting a signal officer aboard to facilitate 
the entrance of ships into the port at night by the 
use of two lights, a red and a white, covered with a 
shade in front of the globe to lift up and down, by 
which we could send messages as we did with the 
flag on land in the day and with the torch at night; 
the red light representing the wave to the right and 
the white light the wave to the left. After some 
consultation General Whiting ordered Captain 
Alexander to send up a signal officer to join the 
Giraffe, and Robert Herring was detailed for that 
purpose and sent to Wilmington, where the lights 
were prepared, and he went aboard. The Giraffe 
went out and returned successfully, but from some 
cause (I never understood why) Herring failed to 
attract the attention of the land force and sent no 
message ashore. In the meantime the other 


192 DERELICTS 


steamer, the Cornubia, arrived in port, and Captain 
Alexander having been ordered elsewhere, and 
Lieutenant Doggett having been sent down from 
Richmond to take charge of the signal corps, Gen- 
eral Whiting ordered a signal officer for the Cor- 
nubia, and I was detailed and sent to Wilmington 
to prepare the lights and report on board. 

“We cleared the bar successfully, with Captain 
Burroughs in command, and C. C. Morse as pilot, 
and had a good voyage to St. George, Bermuda, 
where we unloaded our cargo of cotton and re- 
loaded with supplies for the Southern Army. On 
our return trip we made the land fifty or sixty 
miles above Fort Fisher and coasted down to the 
inlet, our intention being to get near the land in- 
side the blockading fleet, which was obliged to keep 
off a certain distance on account of shoal water. As 
well as I remember, when within fifteen to twenty 
miles of Fort Fisher, Captain Burroughs sent for 
me to come on the bridge, and asked if I had my 
lights ready, and if I thought I could send a mes- 
sage ashore, Pilot Morse in the meantime telling 
me that he would let me know when we were op- 
posite the signal station on the land, where a con- 
stant watch was kept all night for our signal. We 
had not gone far when Morse told me we were op- 


CONFEDERATE STATES SIGNAL CORPS’ 193 


posite the post. We were feeling our way very 
slowly in the dark. I was put down on the deck, 
with the gangways open, my lights facing the land 
and a screen behind, when I was ordered to call 
the station. The officers and sailors were highly 
interested in the movement and crowded around to 
watch the proceedings. I had called but a few times 
when I was answered from the shore with a torch. 
I turned to Captain Burroughs and told him I had 
the attention of the land forces, and asked what 
message he wished to send. He replied as follows: 
‘Colonel Lamb, steamer Cornubia. Protect me. 
Burroughs.’ I got the O. K. for the message from 
shore, and saw the corps on land call up one sta- 
tion after the other, and transmit my message down 
to Fort Fisher, miles ahead of us, and afterwards 
learned that General Whiting was notified by tele- 
graph of the arrival of the Cornubia before she 
crossed the bar that night; and when we arrived 
at the fort we found Colonel Lamb down on the 
point with his Whitworth guns ready to protect us 
if necessary. The success of this attempt gave an 
impetus to the signal corps, and from that time 
every steamer that arrived applied to the Govern- 
ment for a signal officer before leaving port.” 


194 DERELICTS 


The name of the Cornubia was subsequently 
changed to Lady Davis, in honor of the wife of 
President Davis at Richmond, and Captain Gale, 
an officer of the old Navy who had gone over to 
the Confederacy, was placed in command. “About 
the 2oth of December, 1863,” Mr. Gregory adds, 
“we left Bermuda with a cargo for Wilmington in 
charge of Captain Gale, with Mr. Robert Grisson 
as pilot and myself as signal officer. We made 
land some miles above Wilmington, apparently 
through bad navigation, almost as far north as 
Cape Lookout, and when opposite Masonboro in 
coasting down we observed rockets going up di- 
rectly ahead of us. We were running at full speed, 
when to our consternation rockets appeared quite 
near abreast of us; in fact we were apparently sur- 
rounded by cruisers. There was a hurried consul- 
tation on the bridge. I was at my post with my 
lights, waiting to be called, when the order was 
given to head for the beach and drive the ship high 
and dry. The blockaders were then cannonading 
us very heavily. When our good ship struck the 
beach she ploughed up the sand for a considerable 
distance, and keeled over on her side. The boats 
were lowered, and every man told to look out for 
himself, which I assure you we lost no time in 


CONFEDERATE STATES SIGNAL CORPS 195 


doing, as we had scarcely left the ship before the 
enemy were boarding her on the opposite side and 
firing briskly with small arms. They followed us 
to the beach, and kept up a heavy fire from cannon 
and small arms for an hour. We dodged about in 
the bulrushes as best we could, and made our way 
toward the fort. Captain Thomas, acting chief 
officer, took ashore with him two fine chronometers, 
and selected me to carry one for him, but after 
beating around with them in the rushes for a mile 
or so, we became exhausted and had to throw them 
away. I have no doubt they are still lying in the 
rushes on the beach. We at last met a company 
of soldiers who protected and escorted us to the 
sound. We forded the sound and remained all night 
and were sent to Wilmington the next day, over- 
land, by mule teams. I always thought it was a 
shame that the Lady Davis was lost, having no 
doubt we could have put to sea and escaped on the 
occasion referred to, although I was not informed 
as to the supply of coal on board. 

“Captain Gale had been very sick the day before, 
and was too feeble to leave the ship, so remained 
on board and was captured and taken to Fort War- 
ren. The U. S. S. James Adger, commanded by 
Capt. James Foster of Bloomington, Ind., had the 


re ee et 
mh ae 
i 


196 DERELICTS 


good fortune to capture our ship, and hauled her 
off as a prize. 

“After reaching Wilmington and supplying my- 
self with clothing and a hat, I immediately went on 
board the steamer Flora with Captain Horner and 
made a successful run to Bermuda. The Flora was 
considered too slow and sent back to England. I 
then joined the Index, commanded by Captain Mar- 
shall, and made several successful voyages on her, 
but she too was condemned as too slow and was 
returned to Glasgow. 

“T had a thrilling adventure on this ship on a 
homeward voyage, when, for the first time in all my 
experience, we made land opposite Bald Head Light 
on Frying Pan Shoals. As we were coming around 
to New Inlet we fell in with a Federal cruiser, 
so close when we discovered her that we could 
easily discern the maneuvers of the men on deck. 
She seemed to have anchors weighed, and was moy- 
ing about and could easily have captured us, and we 
were at a loss to understand why she did not fire 
into us. Some of our people decided that she wished 
to secure us as a prize without injury, as she steamed 
alongside of us for miles and all at once put her 
helm hard down and went close under our stern and 
attempted to go between us and the shoals. I re- 


CONFEDERATE STATES SIGNAL CORPS’ 197 


member the remark of our pilot, Tom Grissom, to 
Captain Marshall: ‘If she follows us on that course 
I will wreck her before we reach the inlet.’ 

“The cruiser had only steamed half a mile or so, 
when she suddenly passed from view, and in a few 
moments a rocket went up near where we last saw 
her, which was repeated at short intervals. After 
a few minutes, rockets could be seen going up from 
the whole squadron and there was evidently a great 
commotion among them on account of our pursuer, 
who seemed suddenly to have got into serious 
trouble. We passed through the inlet without fur- 
ther molestation, as the entire fleet had centered 
their attention upon the unfortunate cruiser which 
had suddenly gone down. When morning dawned, 
it revealed the Federal cruiser hard and fast on the 
reef, with the other vessels of the squadron work- 
ing manfully to relieve her. Colonel Lamb went 
down to the extreme point with his Whitworth guns 
and opened fire on her. A month or so afterwards, 
while in Bermuda, I saw a spirited sketch of the 
whole affair in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated News, giv- 
ing an account of the wreck, and of an investigation 
of the conduct of the officers in charge. I think the 
vessel was the gun-boat Petrel. 


ae 


198 DERELICTS 


“After the Index was sent back to Glasgow, Cap- 
tain Marshall took charge of the steamer Rouen 
and I joined her as signal officer. We loaded our 
cargo and started for Wilmington, and on the third 
day out sighted a steamer about one o’clock p. m. 
This ship proved to be the U. S. S. Keystone State, 
which captured us after a hot chase of six hours. 
We were all transferred to the Margaret and Jessie, 
a former blockade runner which had been captured 
and utilized as a cruiser. We were taken to New 
York and confined in the Tombs Prison. Subse- 
quently, all the officers and crew were discharged 
except four of us, and we were transferred to the 
Ludlow Street Jail for further investigation. After 
six weeks’ imprisonment we succeeded in effecting 
our escape through the medium of English gold, 
after which we went down to East River and found 
an old barque loaded with staves and hay for St. 
Thomas. Each one of us gave the captain $25 in 
gold with the understanding that he would sail by 
St. George, Bermuda, and land us there. We 
reached this place after several weeks to find it 
devastated by yellow fever. Many personal friends 
died of this scourge, among whom was our lamented 
purser of the Index, Mr. Robert Williams, a well- 


alt 


CONFEDERATE STATES SIGNAL CORPS 199 


known native of Wilmington, much beloved for his 
superior personal qualities. 

“T then made one voyage in the Owl, which be- 
came famous under the command of Capt. John 
Newland Mafftt. After this I joined the new steel 
steamer Susan Beirne, commanded by Captain Mar- 
tin, of which my old friend and shipmate James 
Sprunt was purser. After a very hazardous voy- 
age in this ship, during which we weathered a fear- 
ful gale, and although we came very near founder- 
ing, we returned to Nassau to learn from Captain 
Mafiitt of the steamer Owl, which had just arrived, 
that the last port of the Confederacy had been 
closed, and that the war was practically over. 

“A small party of almost reckless Confederates, 
composed of our chief engineer, Mr. Lockhart; our 
second engineer, Mr. Carroll; our purser, Mr. 
James Sprunt, and the purser of another steamer 
in port, Maj. William Green, bought the steam 
launch belonging to our ship, a boat about forty 
feet in length and six feet breadth of beam, and 
made a perilous voyage by way of Green Turtle 
Cay to Cape Canaveral, Fla., where they landed in 
the surf after a two weeks’ voyage, and proceeding 
on foot 175 miles to Ocala, Fla., succeeded in evad- 
ing the Federal pickets and sentries at various points 


Mt MARC SAM 


200 DERELICTS 


along the route and at last reached Wilmington, 
having occupied about two months on the way. 

“T chose an easier and more agreeable route and 
proceeded via New York to visit some relatives in 
Indiana and returned later to North Carolina to 
find peace restored to our unhappy and desolated 
country.” 


CAPTAIN JOHN NEWLAND MAFFITT. 


Among that devoted band of United States Navy 
officers whose home and kindred were in the South 
at the outbreak of the War, and who resigned their 
commissions rather than aid in subjugating their 
native State, there was none braver than our own 
Capt. John Newland Mafitt, who, yielding to neces- 
sity, severed the strong ties of service under the old 
flag in which he had long distinguished himself, and 
relinquished not only a conspicuous position directly 
in line of speedy promotion to the rank of admiral, 
but sacrificed at the same time his entire fortune, 
which was invested in the North and which was con- 
fiscated shortly afterwards by the United States 
Government. 

After the capture of the forts and the closing of 
the ports of Wilmington and Charleston in Jan- 
uary, 1865, Maffitt, in command of the steamer 
Owl and unaware of the situation, ran into each 
port in quick succession, escaping from the fleet in 
each exploit as by a miracle, although under a heavy 
and destructive fire. While running out of Charles- 


201 


a a a 


202 DERELICTS 


ton Harbor when escape seemed impossible, his en- 
tire history of the cruise of the Florida, which he 
had so long successfully commanded, was, by an 
unfortunate misunderstanding on the part of a sub- 
ordinate, sent to the bottom of the sea, along with 
the Confederate mail and other valuable papers. 
Captain Mafftt, gifted with the pen of a ready 
writer, left many valuable accounts of his adven- 
tures, among them a story of naval life in the old 
service entitled ‘Nautilus,’ and a number of arti- 
cles for the Army and Navy Magazine under the 
title ‘‘Reminiscences of the Confederate States 
Navy.” His paper on the building of the ram A/- 
bemarle by Captain Cooke, and that gallant officer’s 
subsequent attack upon the Federal fleet in Ply- 
mouth Sound, which is copied entire by Colonel 
Scharf in his history of the Confederate Navy, has 
been pronounced one of the finest descriptions of 
the Civil War. It was my privilege to be numbered 
among his personal friends from the time he hon- 
ored me, a lad of seventeen years, with his recom- 
mendation for the appointment as purser of his 
own ship, the Confederate steamer Lilian, which 
was confirmed just before he gave up the command 
to take charge of the Confederate ram Albemarle 
at Plymouth; and this friendship was unbroken until 


CAPTAIN JOHN NEWLAND MAFFITT 203 


the close of his eventful life, the sacrifices and serv- 
ices of which should ever be held in grateful re- 
membrance by our Southern people. 

In the year after my appointment to the Lilian, 
I had the misfortune to be captured at sea after an 
exciting chase of five hours by the Federal cruisers 
Keystone State, Boston, Gettysburg, and two others 
unknown, in which our ship was disabled under a 
heavy fire by shot below the water line, and was 
held a prisoner on board the U. S. S. Keystone State, 
whose commander, Captain Crosby, a regular in the 
old Navy, treated me most courteously. Upon the 
invitation of the paymaster, I messed with the su- 
perior officers in the wardroom, where I heard fre- 
quent bitter allusions to Captain Semmes and other 
prominent Confederates, but never a word of cen- 
sure for the genial Maffitt, the mention of whose 
name would provoke a kindly and amused smile as 
some of his pranks in the old times would be re- 
called by those who had not learned to regard him 
as a foe. 

The following passages, taken from Admiral 
Porter’s Naval History of the Civil War, confirm 
the personal observations of the writer with refer- 
ence to Maffitt’s reputation in the old Navy: 


204 DERELICTS 


“Mafhitt was a different man from Semmes. A 
thorough master of his profession, and possessed 
of all the qualities that make a favorite naval com- 
mander, he became a successful raider of the sea; 
but he made no enemies among those officers who 
had once known him and who now missed his genial 
humor in their messes. He was a veritable rover, 
but was never inhumane to those whom the fortunes 
of war threw into his hands, and he made himself 
as pleasant while emptying a ship of her cargo and 
then scuttling her, as Claude Duval when robbing 
a man of his purse or borrowing his watch from his 
pocket.” 

Porter then describes in almost flattering terms 
Maffitt’s superior skill and daring in fitting out the 
Florida under most adverse conditions, and then by 
way of explanation says: 

“It may appear to the reader that we have ex- 
hibited more sympathy for Commander Mafhtt and 
given him more credit than he deserved; it must be 
remembered that we are endeavoring to write a 
naval history of the war, and not a partisan work. 
This officer, it is true, had gone from under the flag 
we venerate to fight against it; but we know it was 
a sore trial for him to leave the service to which 
he was attached and that he believed he was doing 


CAPTAIN JOHN NEWLAND MAFFITT 205 


his duty in following the fortunes of his State, and 
had the courage to follow his convictions. He did 
not leave the U. S. Navy with any bitterness, and 
when the troubles were all over, he accepted the 
situation gracefully. What we are going to state 
of him shows that he was capable of the greatest 
heroism, and that, though he was on the side of the 
enemy, his courage and skill were worthy of praise.” 

He then recounts the wonderful story of Mafhtt’s 
perilous run through Commander Preble’s fleet in 
broad daylight, with a crew decimated by yellow 
fever, and he himself scarcely able to stand from 
its prostrating effects. 

“The Florida approached rapidly, her smoke 
pipes vomiting forth volumes of black smoke and a 
high press of steam escaping from her steam pipe. 
As she came within hailing distance, the Federal 
commander ordered her to heave to, but Mafhtt 
still sped on, having sent all his men below, except 
the man at the wheel, and returned to reply to the 
hail. Preble then fired a shot ahead of the Florida, 
still supposing her to be some saucy Englishman 
disposed to try what liberties he could take, though 
the absence of men on deck should have excited 
suspicion. He hesitated, however, and hesitation 
lost him a prize and the honor of capturing one 


206 DERELICTS 


of the Confederate scourges of the ocean. Preble 
had his crew at quarters, however, and as soon as 
he saw that the stranger was passing him he opened 
his broadside upon her and the other two block- 
aders did the same. But the first shots were aimed 
too high, and the Florida sped on toward the bar, 
her feeble crew forgetting their sickness and heap- 
ing coal upon the furnace fires with all possible 
rapidity. Every man was working for his life, 
while the captain stood amid the storm of shot and 
shell perfectly unmoved, keenly watching the marks 
for entering the port and wondering to himself what 
his chances were for getting in. 

“During the whole war there was not a more 
exciting adventure than this escape of the Florida 
into Mobile Bay. The gallant manner in which it 
was conducted excited great admiration, even among 
the men who were responsible for permitting it. We 
do not suppose that there was ever a case where a 
man, under all the attending circumstances, dis- 
played more energy or more bravery. 

“And so the Florida was allowed to go on her 
way without molestation, and Mafhitt was enabled 
to commence that career on the high seas which 
has made his name one of the notable ones of the 
war. He lighted the seas wherever he passed 


CAPTAIN JOHN NEWLAND MAFFITT 207 


along, and committed such havoc among American 
merchantmen, that, if possible, he was even more 
dreaded than Semmes. We have only to say that 
his being permitted to escape into Mobile Bay and 
then to get out again was the greatest example of 
blundering committed throughout the war. Every 
officer who knew Maffitt was certain that he would 
attempt to get out of Mobile, and we are forced 
to say that those who permitted his escape are re- 
sponsible for the terrible consequences of their want 
of vigilance and energy.” 

Preble’s failure to sink the Florida—for nothing 
else would have stopped Maffitt—brought him into 
disgrace with the Navy Department, although he 
proved in his report of the affair that every means 
at his command had been used to intercept the bold 
Confederate, and shortly afterwards the Secretary 
of the Navy, supported by a majority of naval off- 
cers, recommended the dismissal of Commodore 
Preble from the Navy, which was carried into effect 
September 20, 1863. 

Preble repeatedly demanded an _ investigation, 
which was refused, but he ultimately got his case 
before Congress and was restored to the list Feb- 
ruary 21, 1864, with the grade of rear admiral. 


208 DERELICTS 


At the close of the war Captain Maffitt was sum- 
moned by a court of inquiry demanded by Preble 
to testify as to the facts of his exploit in entering 
Mobile Bay, in which he said: 

“IT can vouch for his (Preble’s) promptness and 
destructive energy on the occasion of my entering 
Mobile Bay. The superior speed of the Florida 
alone saved her from destruction, though not from 
a frightful mauling. We were torn to pieces—one 
man’s head taken off and eleven wounded; boats, 
standing and running rigging shot away, also fore 
gaff. Four shells struck our hull and had the one 
(9-inch) that grazed our boiler and entered the 
berth deck, killing one and wounding two, exploded 
every man belonging to the steamer would have 
been killed, as I had only the officers on deck until 
about to cross the bar, when I made some sail, and 
one man was wounded in the rigging. We had 
about 1,400 shrapnel shots in our hull, and our 
masts were pitted like a case of smallpox. The 
damage done her was so great that we did not get 
to sea again for over three months.” 

The last voyage of Captain Maffitt was made on 
the Owl, which he boarded at Wilmington the 21st 
of December, 1864, receiving her cargo of 750 
bales of cotton. With three other blockade runners 


CAPTAIN JOHN NEWLAND MAFFITT 209 


in company he started for the bar. He escaped the 
Federal sentinels “without the loss of a rope yarn,” 
though one of his companions came to grief through 
an accident to machinery. Their destination was 
St. George, Bermuda, which they reached in safety, 
finding several steamers loaded and anxiously await- 
ing news from the Federal expedition under General 
Butler against Fort Fisher. Through a Halifax 
steamer the Northern papers apprised them of the 
failure of the expedition, and in company with six 
other steamers and many gallant spirits, the Owl 
started on her return to Dixie, all cheered by the 
joyful news. 

In the meantime another expedition against Fort 
Fisher had been fitted out under General Terry and 
Admiral Porter, which had been successful, and the 
river was in possession of the Federals. 

Communicating with Lockwood’s Folly, where 
they reported all quiet and Fisher intact, Captain 
Mafhitt steamed for the Cape Fear. At eight 
o’clock it was high water on the bar, and the moon 
would not rise before eleven. Approaching the 
channel, he was surprised to see but one sentinel 
guarding the entrance. Eluding him, he passed in. 
Some apprehension was excited by a conflagration 
at Bald Head and no response to his signals, but 


210 DERELICTS 


as Fort Caswell looked natural and quiet, he de- 
cided to anchor off the fort wharf. He was imme- 
diately interviewed by the chief of ordnance and 
artillery, E. S. Martin, and another officer, who in- 
formed him of the state of affairs, and that the 
train was already laid for the blowing up of Fort 
Caswell. Gunboats were approaching, and in great 
distress Captain Mafftt hastily departed. A soli- 
tary blockader pursued him furiously for some time, 
and far at sea he heard the explosion that an- 
nounced the fate of Caswell. As his cargo was im- 
portant and much needed, Captain Mafftt deter- 
mined to make an effort to enter the port of 
Charleston, although he had been informed that it 
was more closely guarded than ever before. 

Many attempts were made to overhaul his vessel 
as he made his way into the harbor, but it was only 
necessary to stir up the fire draft a bit to start off 
with truly admirable speed that enabled him to out- 
distance his pursuers. Anticipating a trying night 
and the bare possibility of capture, the captain had 
two bags slung and suspended over the quarter by 
a stout line. In these bags were placed the Gov- 
ernment mail not yet delivered, all private corre- 
spondence and the captain’s war journal in which 
was the cruise of the Florida. An intelligent quar- 


CAPTAIN JOHN NEWLAND MAFFITT 211 


termaster was instructed to stand by the bags with 
a hatchet, and to cut them adrift the moment cap- 
ture became inevitable. 

The following is a description of what happened 
in Captain Maffitt’s own words: 

“When on the western tail end of Rattlesnake 
Shoal, we encountered streaks of mist and fog that 
enveloped stars and everything for a few moments, 
when it would become quite clear again. Running 
cautiously in one of these obscurations, a sudden 
lift in the haze disclosed that we were about to run 
into an anchored blockader. We had bare room 
with a hard-a-port helm to avoid him some fifteen 
or twenty feet, when their officer on deck called out: 
“Heave to, or I’ll sink you.’ The order was un- 
noticed, and we received his entire broadside, which 
cut away turtleback, perforated forecastle, and tore 
up bulwarks in front of our engine room, wounding 
twelve men, some severely, some slightly. The quar- 
termaster stationed by the mail bags was so con- 
vinced that we were captured that he instantly used 
his hatchet, and sent them, well moored, to the 
bottom. Hence my meager account of the cruise of 
the Florida. Rockets were fired as we passed 
swiftly out of his range of sight, and Drummond 
lights lit up the animated surroundings of a swarm 


212 DERELICTS 


of blockaders, who commenced an indiscriminate 
discharge of artillery. We could not understand 
the reason of this bombardment, and as we picked 
our way out of the mélée, concluded that several 
blockade runners must have been discovered feeling 
their way into Charleston. 

“After the war, in conversing with the officer com- 
manding on that occasion, he said that a number 
of the steamers of the blockade were commanded 
by inexperienced volunteer officers, who were some- 
times overzealous and excitable, and hearing the 
gunboats firing into me, and seeing her rockets and 
signal lights, they thought that innumerable blockade 
runners were forcing a passage into the harbor, 
hence the indiscriminate discharge of artillery, 
which was attended with unfortunate results to 
them. This was my last belligerent association 
with blockade running. Entering the harbor of 
Charleston, and finding it in the possession of the 
Federals, I promptly checked progress and re- 
treated. The last order issued by the Navy De- 
partment, when all hope for the cause had departed, 
was for me to deliver the Owl to Frazier, Tren- 
holme & Co., in Liverpool, which I accordingly 
did.” 


CAPTAIN MAFFITT AND THE CONSUL. 


The following story was told me by the veteran 
blockade runner George C. McDougal: 

“When the Yankees ran the Kate out of New 
Smyrna, Fla., we had to run across light and leave 
Capt. Thomas Lockwood, who had gone to Charles- 
ton, behind. The command devolved on Mr. Carlin, 
first officer. We got the ship into Nassau Satur- 
day night. On the following day, Sunday, the Brit- 
ish mail steamer appeared off Nassau with the new 
Governor of the Bahamas on board, but owing to 
a heavy sea on the bar she could not cross, and ac- 
cordingly ran down to the west end of the island 
and to smoother water in order to land the Gov- 
ernor. During the day a number of prominent in- 
habitants of Nassau came aboard the Kate and 
asked if the captain would go down to the west end 
and bring the Governor up. Captain Carlin told 
them that they were quite welcome to the ship if 
she could be got ready in time, which would depend 
upon the chief engineer. He immediately consulted 
with me and we decided that as the people of Nas- 


213 


214 DERELICTS 


sau had been very kind to us, the Kate being a fa- 
vorite, we would try to accommodate them at once. 
As we had arrived after midnight on Saturday, and, 
not wishing to work on Sunday, we had not blown 
the boilers out. The water was hot, and I told the 
captain I would be ready in an hour’s time or less. 
I started the fires immediately and in a few minutes 
the committee went on shore to gather their friends 
and to send off refreshments. In a short time gun- 
boats began to crowd alongside with the aforesaid 
refreshments, both solid and liquid, the latter as 
usual predominating in the shape of cases of cham- 
pagne, brandy, etc. 

“When the guests were all on board we hove up 
the anchor and faced the bar. A tremendous sea 
was running, and at times our topgallant forecastle 
was under water. We worked out, however, and 
hauled down the coast for the west end. Ina short 
time the refreshments began to work on the com- 
pany, especially on the mate. Captain Carlin being 
afraid that the small anchor would not hold the 
ship, ordered the mate to get the large anchor from 
between decks to the gangway, carry the chain from 
the hawse pipe along the side of the ship by tricing 
lines and shackle it to the anchor. I noticed that 
the mate was almost incapable from the aforesaid 


CAPTAIN MAFFITT AND THE CONSUL 215 


refreshments, and I said to him, ‘You will lose that 
anchor,’ to which he replied, ‘I know what I am 
about.’ Presently the ship took a roll down into 
the trough of the sea, and overboard went the an- 
chor. When it struck bottom the ship was going 
twelve or fourteen miles an hour and the sudden 
jerk started the chain around the windlass, and the 
way that seventy fathoms of chain flew around the 
windlass and out of the hawse pipe made the fire fly. 
It looked as if half a dozen flashes of lightning were 
playing hide and seek between the decks. With a 
crack like a pistol shot the weather bitting parted 
and the end of the chain went out of the hawse pipe 
to look for the anchor. 

“We soon made the bay at the west end and ran 
alongside the mail steamer and let go our anchor, 
but found to our disappointment that the Governor 
had gone to town in a carriage sent for him by 
the officials. After spending a pleasant hour in ex- 
changing visits between the officers of the two 
steamers, our guests in the meantime partaking of 
refreshments, we hove up the anchor and started 
back toward Nassau. 

“Among our passengers was the gallant Capt. 
John N. Maffitt, who was then waiting at Nassau 
to get the Oreto, afterwards named the Florida, 


216 DERELICTS 


out of irons. We had also Captain Whiting, the 
American consul at Nassau, who asked permission 
to go down to the steamer to get his dispatches, 
which was not denied him, although this man was 
greatly disliked not only by Confederate sympa- 
thizers but by the natives, having, as the Irishman 
said, winning ways to make everybody hate him. 
During the run back the consul, overcome by his 
numerous potations, lay down with his dispatches 
and was soon asleep. When we aroused him at our 
destination the dispatches were missing, whereupon 
he accused Mafhtt of stealing them, resulting in a 
grand row all round. The dispatches were restored 
to him on the following day, their disappearance 
being caused by a practical joke on the part of the 
Confederates. We delivered our passengers in a 
very shaky condition. 

“(On Monday morning, having turned out bright 
and early to start work, our attention was attracted 
to the shore by a noisy and excited group of negroes 
gathered around the flagstaff of the American con- 
sul, gesticulating and pointing to the top of the flag- 
staff, from which, to my astonishment, was flying 
a brand new Confederate flag. It soon appeared 
that some one, said to be a Confederate sympa- 
thizer, and whom every one believed to be Mafitt, 


CAPTAIN MAFFITT AND THE CONSUL 217 


who was always ready for a joke, had climbed the 
flagstaff during the night, carrying up with him a 
Confederate flag and a bucket of slush. The hal- 
yards were first unrove, next the Confederate flag 
was nailed to the staff, and last of all as the joker 
descended, he slushed the staff all the way to the 
ground, making it impossible for any one to ascend 
to remove the ensign which was so hateful to our 
friend the consul. When Whiting came down to 
the consulate after breakfast and took in the situa- 
tion, he performed a war dance around that pole 
which was one of the most interesting spectacles 
ever witnessed by the Confederates in Nassau. He 
then employed a number of Her Majesty’s colored 
subjects with cans of concentrated lye to remove the 
slush, and, after great difficulty, one of them suc- 
ceeded in reaching the top of the staff and removed 
the Confederate flag, replacing the halyards as be- 
fore; but this was not the last of it. On the follow- 
ing morning a United States man-of-war appeared 
off the harbor, and when the consul in full official 
rig took his seat in the stern of his gig he found 
on reaching the cruiser that he was hard and fast 
by the nether extremities, some North Carolina tar 
having been previously applied by the aforesaid 
Confederate sympathizer to the seat of his gig. Of 


218 DERELICTS 


course these annoyances created a great deal of 
feeling, and a down-east shipmaster, desiring to 
show his spite, made a fool of himself by hoisting 
the American flag over the British flag, the latter 
being union down, intending it as an insult, of course, 
which was immediately noticed on shore, and in a 
short time several thousand shouting, howling Brit- 
ish negroes were lining the water front looking for 
boats and threatening to drown the American cap- 
tain who had taken such a liberty with their beloved 
flag. Before they could carry out their purpose, 
however, a man-of-war’s launch shot out from the 
British gunboat Bulldog with a file of marines, and, 
boarding the brig, ordered the flags hauled down 
and the English flag detached, took the captain in 
the launch and pulled to the government wharf and 
immediately shoved him into the calaboose, from 
which confinement he was not released until the next 
day, with the admonition that if he remained on 
board his ship he would have no need of a surgeon. 
He took the hint and was seen no more on shore. 

‘“‘On Thursday we were bound for the northwest 
channel with our regulation cargo of 1,000 barrels 
of gunpowder and arms and accouterments for 10,- 
000 men. We ran into Charleston on Saturday 
night and on Sunday morning the Confederate quar- 
termaster pressed every horse and dray in Charles- 


CAPTAIN MAFFITT AND THE CONSUL 219 


ton to haul the cargo to the railroad station. The 
congregations of the churches along Meeting and 
King Streets probably derived very little benefit 
from the sermons delivered that sacred day, as the 
roar of the drays and wagons was incessant all day 
Sunday and Sunday night. As fast as a train was 
loaded it was started out for Johnston’s army, and 
a conductor of a train told me afterwards that the 
soldiers broke open the cases of rifles on the cars 
and distributed the firearms and accouterments 
from the car doors. It may be said that the Kate 
was a most important factor in the battle of Shiloh. 
Johnston’s army was a mass of undisciplined men 
with single and double barrel shotguns, old time 
rifles, and anything else in the way of firearms that 
they could bring from home. They had nothing 
suitable to fight with. The three cargoes of war 
stores, therefore, carried in by the Kate, one by the 
Mary Celeste to Smyrna and the fourth cargo car- 
ried by the Kate into Charleston, actually equipped 
Johnston’s army, immediately after which came the 
battle of Shiloh. One thousand barrels of gunpow- 
der was a dangerous shipment to run through the 
Federal blockade, and it was a great relief to us 
when the Confederacy established powder mills in 
Georgia, and our powder cargoes were changed to 
niter for the mills.” 


CAPTAIN JOHN WILKINSON. 


One of the most intelligent and successful com- 
manders of the blockade-running fleet was Capt. 
John Wilkinson, who entered the United States 
Navy as a midshipman in 1837, and, after an hon- 
orable and distinguished career, tendered his serv- 
ices upon the secession of his native State, Virginia, 
to the Confederacy. 

Having received a commission in the Confederate 
States Navy, he served in various responsible posi- 
tions until ordered upon special service in command 
of the Confederate States steamer R. E. Lee. 

In his interesting book entitled Narrative of a 
Blockade Runner, speaking of the citizens of Vir- 
ginia who resigned their commissions in the old 
service, he says: 

“They were compelled to choose whether they 
would aid in subjugating their State or in defend- 
ing it against invasion; for it was already evident 
that coercion would be used by the General Govy- 
ernment, and that war was inevitable. In reply to 
the accusation of perjury in breaking their oath of 


221 


222 DERELICTS 


allegiance, since brought against the officers of the 
Army and Navy who resigned their commissions to 
render aid to the South, it need only be stated that, 
in their belief, the resignation of their commissions 
absolved them from any special obligation. They 
then occupied the same position toward the Goy- 
ernment as other classes of citizens. But this charge 
was never brought against them till the war was 
ended. The resignation of their commissions was 
accepted when their purpose was well known. As 
to the charge of ingratitude, they reply, their re- 
spective States had contributed their full share to- 
ward the expenses of the General Government, 
acting as their disbursing agent, and when these 
States withdrew from the Union their citizens be- 
longing to the two branches of the public service 
did not, and do not, consider themselves amenable 
to this charge for abandoning their official positions 
to cast their lot with their kindred and friends. But 
yielding as they did to necessity, it was, neverthe- 
less, a painful act to separate themselves from com- 
panions with whom they had been long and inti- 
mately associated, and from the flag under which 
they had been proud to serve.” 

With reference to his experience in blockade run- 
ning at Wilmington Captain Wilkinson continues: 


CAPTAIN JOHN WILKINSON 223 


“The natural advantages of Wilmington for 
blockade running were very great, chiefly owing to 
the fact that there were two separate and distinct 
approaches to Cape Fear River; i. e., either by 
New Inlet, to the north of Smith’s Island, or by 
the Western Bar to the south of it. This island 
is ten or eleven miles in length; but the Frying Pan 
Shoals extend ten or twelve miles farther south, 
making the distance by sea between the two bars 
thirty miles or more, although the direct distance 
between them is only six or seven miles. From 
Smithville (now Southport), a little village nearly 
equidistant from either bar, both blockading fleets 
could be distinctly seen, and the outward-bound 
blockade runners could take their choice through 
which of them to run the gauntlet. The inward- 
bound blockade runners, too, were guided by cir- 
cumstances of wind and weather, selecting that bar 
over which they could cross after they had passed 
the Gulf Stream, and shaping their course accord- 
ingly. The approaches to both bars were clear of 
danger with the single exception of the ‘Lump,’ be- 
fore mentioned; and so regular are the soundings 
that the shore can be coasted for miles within a 
stone’s throw of the breakers. 


224 DERELICTS 


“These facts explain why the United States fleet 
was unable wholly to stop blockade running. It 
was, indeed, impossible to do so; the result to the 
very close of the war proves this assertion, for, in 
spite of the vigilance of the fleet, many blockade 
runners were afloat when Fort Fisher was captured. 
In truth the passage through the fleet was little 
dreaded; for although the blockade runner might 
receive a shot or two, she was rarely disabled; and 
in proportion to the increase of the fleet the greater 
would be the danger, we knew, of their firing into 
each other. As the boys before the deluge used 
to say, they would be very apt to ‘miss the cow and 
kill the calf.’ The chief danger was upon the open 
sea, many of the light cruisers having great speed. 
As soon as one of them discovered a blockade run- 
ner during daylight, she would attract other cruisers 
in the vicinity by sending up a dense column of 
smoke, visible for many miles in clear weather. A 
cordon of fast steamers stationed ten or fifteen 
miles apart, inside the Gulf Stream, and in the 
course from Nassau and Bermuda to Wilmington 
and Charleston, would have been more effectual in 
stopping blockade running than the whole United 
States Navy concentrated off those ports; and it was 
unaccountable to us why such a plan did not occur 


CAPTAIN JOHN WILKINSON 225 


to good Mr. Welles; but it was not our place to 
suggest it. I have no doubt, however, that the fra- 
ternity to which I then belonged would have unani- 
mously voted thanks and a service of plate to the 
Honorable Secretary of the United States Navy for 
this oversight. I say inside the Gulf Stream, because 
every experienced captain of a blockade runner made 
a point to cross the stream early enough in the 
afternoon, if possible, to establish the ship’s posi- 
tion by chronometer, so as to escape the influence of 
that current upon his dead reckoning. The lead 
always gave indication of our distance from the 
land, but not, of course, of our position; and the 
numerous salt works along the coast, where evapo- 
ration was produced by fire, and which were at work 
night and day, were visible long before the low 
coast could be seen. Occasionally the whole inward 
voyage would be made under adverse conditions. 
Cloudy, thick weather and heavy gales would pre- 
vail so as to prevent any solar or lunar observa- 
tions, and reduce the dead reckoning to mere guess- 
work. In these cases the nautical knowledge and 
judgment of the captain would be taxed to the 
utmost. ‘The current of the Gulf Stream varies in 
velocity and (within certain limits) in direction; 
and the stream itself, almost as well defined as a 


river within its banks under ordinary circumstances, 


226 DERELICTS 


is impelled by a strong gale toward the direction in 
which the wind is blowing, overflowing its banks, 
as it were. The countercurrent, too, inside of the 
Gulf Stream, is much influenced by the prevailing 
winds. Upon one occasion while in command of 
the R. E. Lee, formerly the Clyde-built iron steamer 
Giraffe, we had experienced very heavy and thick 
weather, and had crossed the stream and struck 
soundings about midday. The weather then clear- 
ing, so that we could obtain an altitude near merid- 
ian, we found ourselves at least forty miles north 
of our supposed position, and near the shoals which 
extend in a southerly direction off Cape Lookout. 
It would be more perilous to run out to sea than to 
continue on our course, for we had passed through 
the offshore line of blockaders, and the sky had be- 
come perfectly clear. I determined to personate a 
transport bound to Beaufort, which was in the pos- 
session of the United States forces and the coaling 
station of the fleet blockading Wilmington. The 
risk of detection was not very great, for many of 
the captured blockade runners were used as trans- 
ports and dispatch vessels. Shaping our course for 
Beaufort and slowing down as if we were in no 
haste to get there, we passed several vessels, show- 


CAPTAIN JOHN WILKINSON 227 


ing United States colors to them all. Just as we 
were crossing through the ripple of shallow water 
off the ‘tail’ of the shoals, we dipped our colors to 
a sloop of war which passed three or four miles to 
the south of us. The courtesy was promptly re- 
sponded to, but I have no doubt her captain thought 
me a lubberly and careless seaman to shave the 
shoals so closely. We stopped the engines when 
no vessel was in sight, and I was relieved of a 
heavy burden of anxiety as the sun sank below the 
horizon, and the course was shaped at full speed 
for Masonboro Inlet. 

“The staid old town of Wilmington was turned 
‘topsy turvey’ during the war. Here resorted the 
speculators from all parts of the South to attend 
the weekly auctions of imported cargoes; and the 
town was infested with rogues and desperadoes, who 
made a livelihood by robbery and murder. It was 
unsafe to venture into the suburbs at night, and 
even in daylight there were frequent conflicts in the 
public streets between the crews of the steamers in 
port and the soldiers stationed in the town, in which 
knives and pistols would be freely used; and not un- 
frequently a dead body would rise to the surface of 
the water in one of the docks with marks of violence 
upon it. The civil authorities were powerless to 


228 DERELICTS 


prevent crime. ‘Inter arma silent leges!’) The 
agents and employees of different blockade-running 
companies lived in magnificent style, paying a king’s 
ransom (in Confederate money) for their house- 
hold expenses, and nearly monopolizing the sup- 
plies in the country market. Toward the end of 
the war, indeed, fresh provisions were almost be- 
yond the reach of everyone. Our family servant, 
newly arrived from the country in Virginia, would 
sometimes return from market with an empty bas- 
ket, having flatly refused to pay what he called ‘such 
nonsense prices’ for a bit of fresh beef, or a handful 
of vegetables. A quarter of lamb at the time of 
which I now write, sold for $100, a pound of tea 
for $500. Confederate money which in September, 
1861, was nearly equal to specie in value, had de- 
clined in September, 1862, to 225; in the same 
month, in 1863, to 400, and before September, 
1864, to 2,000! 

“Many of the permanent residents of the town 
had gone into the country, letting their houses at 
enormous prices; those who were compelled to re- 
main kept themselves much secluded, the ladies 
rarely being seen upon the more public streets. 
Many of the fast young officers belonging to the 
Army would get an occasional leave to come to Wil- 


CAPTAIN JOHN WILKINSON 229 


mington, and would live at free quarters on board 
the blockade runners or at one of the numerous 
bachelor halls ashore. 

“The convalescent soldiers from the Virginia hos- 
pitals were sent by the route through Wilmington 
to their homes in the South. The ladies of the 
town were organized by Mrs. deRosset into a so- 
ciety for the purpose of ministering to the wants of 
these poor sufferers, the trains which carried them 
stopping an hour or two at the depot, that their 
wounds might be dressed and food and medicine 
supplied te them. These self-sacrificing, heroic 
women patiently and faithfully performed the offices 
of hospital nurses. 

“Liberal contributions were made by companies 
and individuals to this society, and the long tables 
at the depot were spread with delicacies for the sick 
to be found nowhere else in the Confederacy. The 
remains of the meals were carried by the ladies to 
a camp of mere boys—home guards outside of the 
town. Some of these children were scarcely able to 
carry a musket and were altogether unable to en- 
dure the exposure and fatigue of field service; and 
they suffered fearfully from measles and typhoid 
fever. General Grant used a strong figure of speech 
when he asserted that ‘the cradle and the grave were 


230 DERELICTS 


robbed to recruit the Confederate armies.’ The 
fact of a fearful drain upon the population was 
scarcely exaggerated, but with this difference in the 
metaphor, that those who were verging upon both 
the cradle and the grave shared the hardships and 
dangers of war with equal self-devotion to the 
cause. It is true that a class of heartless specula- 
tors infested the country, who profited by the scarc- 
ity of all sorts of supplies, but it makes the self- 
sacrifice of the mass of the Southern people more 
conspicuous, and no State made more liberal vol- 
untary contributions to the armies or furnished 
better soldiers than North Carolina. 

“On the opposite side of the river from Wil- 
mington, on a low marshy flat, were erected the 
steam cotton presses, and there the blockade run- 
ners took in their cargoes. Sentries were posted on 
the wharves day and night to prevent deserters from 
getting aboard and stowing themselves away; and 
the additional precaution of fumigating outward- 
bound steamers at Smithville was adopted, but 
in spite of this vigilance, many persons succeeded 
in getting a free passage aboard. ‘These deserters, 
or ‘stowaways,’ were in most instances sheltered by 
one or more of the crew, in which event they kept 
their places of concealment until the steamer had 


ee SS eee eee elm 


CAPTAIN JOHN WILKINSON 231 


arrived at her port of destination, when they would 
profit by the first opportunity to leave the vessel 
undiscovered. A small bribe would tempt the aver- 
age blockade-running sailor to connive at this means 
of escape. The impecunious deserter fared more 
hardly and would usually be forced by hunger or 
thirst to emerge from his hiding place while the 
steamer was on the outward voyage. A cruel de- 
vice employed by one of the captains effectually put 
a stop, I believe, certainly a check, to the escape of 
this class of ‘stowaways.’ He turned three or four 
of them adrift in the Gulf Stream in an open boat 
with a pair of oars and a few days’ allowance of 
bread and water.” 

Colonel Scharf, writing of the Confederate States 
Navy, mentions the shore lights: “At the begin- 
ning of the war,” he says, “nearly all the lights 
along the Southern coast had been discontinued, the 
apparatus being removed to places of safety. In 
1864 it was deemed expedient to re-establish the 
light on Smith’s Island, which had been discontinued 
ever since the beginning of hostilities, and to erect a 
structure for a light on the ‘Mound.’ The ‘Mound’ 
was an artificial one, erected by Colonel Lamb, who 
commanded Fort Fisher.” Captain Wilkinson says 
of the ‘‘Mound”’ and the range lights: ‘“Iwo heavy 


232 DERELICTS 


guns were mounted upon it, and it eventually became 
a site for a light, and very serviceable for blockade 
runners; but even at this period it was an excellent 
landmark. Joined by a long, low isthmus of sand 
with the higher mainland, its regular conical shape 
enabled the blockade runners easily to identify it 
from the offing; and in clear weather, it showed 
plain and distinct against the sky at night. I be- 
lieve the military men used to laugh slyly at the 
colonel for undertaking its erection, predicting that 
it would not stand; but the result showed the con- 
trary; and whatever difference of opinion may have 
existed with regard to its value as a military posi- 
tion, there can be but one as to its utility to the_ 
blockade runners, for it was not a landmark alone, 
along this monotonous coast, but one of the range 
lights for crossing New Inlet Bar was placed on it. 
Seamen will appreciate at its full value this advan- 
tage; but it may be stated for the benefit of the 
unprofessional reader, that while the compass bear- 
ing of an object does not enable a pilot to steer a 
vessel with sufficient accuracy through a narrow 
channel, range lights answer the purpose completely. 
These lights were only set after signals had been 
exchanged between the blockade runner and the 
shore station, and were removed immediately after 


CAPTAIN JOHN WILKINSON 233 


the vessel had entered the river. The range lights 
were changed as circumstances required; for the 
New Inlet Channel itself was and is constantly 
changing, being materially affected both in depth of 
water and in its course by a heavy gale of wind or 
a severe freshet in Cape Fear River.” 


A NORMAL BLOCKADING EXPERIENCE. 


Probably one of the quickest and most uneventful 
voyages made during the war in running the block- 
ade was that made by Capt. C. G. Smith, of South- 
port. The following story on the blockade was told 
by Captain Smith, and is published to show the con- 
trast between what some of the blockade runners 
had to undergo and how easy it was at other times 
to make the round trip without hindrance or ad- 
venture: 

“On a delightful day, about the first of May, 
1863, I left Nassau as pilot on the fine side-wheel 
steamer Margaret and Jessie, Captain Wilson in 
command. 

“The Margaret and Jessie was at that time re- 
garded as one of the fastest steamers. Of about 
800 tons, this steamer when in ballast could make 
fifteen miles an hour, but of course she was usually 
loaded down, therefore seldom doing better than 
ten knots while running the blockade. 

“Passing out from Nassau with a general cargo 
of goods, bound for Wilmington, N. C., the first 


235 


236 DERELICTS 


twenty-four hours were passed without incident, the 
steamer making a good passage, until a gale from 
the northeast met us, which lasted till noon of the 
third day out. 

‘When the wind had lessened somewhat, Captain 
Wilson came to me and asked what point of land I 
wanted to make, to which I replied that I intended 
to run in at the Western Bar of the Cape Fear. 
Finding it an impossibility on account of the weather 
to make the Western Bar before daylight, I made 
for Masonboro and came in at New Inlet, anchor- 
ing abreast of the mound battery which guarded this 
approach at about 11 o’clock at night, and at day- 
light, with a fair tide, ran up to Wilmington. 

“Nothing in the shape of a blockader disturbed 
our voyage. At one time a steamer was seen east- 
southeast of us, but paid no attention to us. When 
at Masonboro, one of the blockading squadron went 
to the southeastward of us, but being under the lee 
of the land she could not make us out. 

“After laying up in Wilmington about ten days, 
discharging our cargo and taking on a load of cot- 
ton, we quietly dropped down the river one morn- 
ing, and, anchoring in five-fathom hole, waited until 
night, when we passed out of New Inlet, bound for 
Nassau. 


A NORMAL BLOCKADING EXPERIENCE 237 


“The return trip was made without incident of 
any kind, the weather was fine, not a vessel of any 
description could be seen on the voyage; and in 
fifty-two hours from the time of leaving the Cape 
Fear, we were safe at the dock at Nassau, dis- 
charging our cargo, making one of the quickest and 
safest passages ever made by any of the blockade 
runners.” 


CAPTAIN JOSEPH FRY. 


In the year 1841, a winsome, honest lad who had 
determined to join the Navy of his country, and 
who had been thwarted in his purpose by friends 
at home, made his way alone from Florida to Wash- 
ington and demanded his right to speak to the Presi- 
dent, which was not denied him. 

Mr. Tyler was so pleased by the youthful man- 
liness of the little chap, who was only eight years 
old, that he invited him to dine at the White House 
on the following day. The young Floridian was the 
observed of all observers; members of the Cabinet 
and their wives, members of Congress and officers 
of the Navy had heard of the little lad’s story, and 
all united in espousing his patriotic cause. 

The President, won by his ardor as well as by 
his gentlemanly and modest behavior, granted the 
boy’s request and immediately signed his warrant 
as a midshipman in the United States Navy. 

The subsequent record of Capt. Joseph Fry, the 
Christian gentleman, the gallant sailor, the humane 
commander, the chivalrous soldier, is known to 


239 


240 DERELICTS 


readers of American history. Of heroic mould and 
dignified address, he was 

“A combination and a form indeed, 

Where every god did seem to set his seal 

To give the world assurance of a man.” 

When the Civil War came, it found him among 
the most beloved and honored officers in the service. 
The trial of his faith was bitter but brief. He could 
not fight against his home and loved ones, much as 
he honored the flag which he had so long and faith- 
fully cherished. He was a Southerner, and with 
many pangs of sincere regret he went with his native 
State for weal or woe. 

His personal bravery during the war was wonder- 
ful; he never performed deeds of valor under tem- 

‘porary excitement, but acted with such coolness and 
daring as to command the admiration of superiors 
and inferiors alike. He was severely wounded at 
the battle of White River, and while on sick leave 
was ordered, at his own request, to command the 
Confederate blockade runner Eugénie, upon which 
the writer made a voyage. 

On one occasion the Eugénie grounded outside 
of Fort Fisher while trying to run through the fleet 
in daylight. The ship was loaded with gunpowder, 
the Federal fleet was firing upon her, the risk of im- 


CAPTAIN JOSEPH FRY 241 


mediate death and destruction to crew and ship was 
overwhelming. Fry was ordered by Colonel Lamb 
to abandon the vessel and save his crew from death 
by explosion. He accordingly told all who wished 
to go to do so, but as for himself, he would stand 
by the ship and try to save the powder, which was 
greatly needed by the Confederate Government. 
Several boatloads of his men retreated to the fort; 
a few remained with Fry, the enemy’s shells flying 
thick and fast around them. In the face of this 
great danger, Fry lightened his ship, and upon the 
swelling tide brought vessel and cargo safely in. 

Later on he commanded the steamer Agnes E. 
Fry, named in honor of his devoted wife. In this 
ship he made three successful voyages, after which 
she was unfortunately run ashore by her pilot and 
lies not far distant from the Virginius. Captain Fry 
was then placed in active service during the remain- 
der of the war in command of the Confederate gun- 
boat Morgan and was highly complimented by his 
general, Dabney H. Maury, for conspicuous bravery 
in action. 

After the war his fortunes underwent many 
changes. Several undertakings met with varying | 
success or failure. At last, he went to New York 
in July, 1873, where he hoped to secure employ- 


242 DERELICTS 


ment in command of an ocean steamer. There he 
was introduced to General Quesada, agent of the 
Cuban Republic, who offered him the command of 
the steamer Virginius, then lying in the harbor of 
Kingston, Jamaica. He accepted the offer, and re- 
ceived a month’s pay in advance, $150, two-thirds 
of which he sent to his needy family, and reserved 
the remainder for his personal outfit. The Vir- 
ginius, originally named Virgin, was built in Scot- 
land in 1864 and was specially designed for a block- 
ade runner in the Confederate service. She made 
several successful trips between Havana and Mo- 
bile. Being shut up in the latter port, she was used 
by the Confederates as a dispatch and transport 
steamer. For a time after the war she was used 
by the Federal Government in the United States 
Revenue Service, but proving unsatisfactory, owing 
to her great consumption of coal, was sold at public 
auction by the United States Treasury Department 
to an American firm. The owners in 1870 took 
out American papers in legal form and cleared her 
for Venezuela. From that time she was used in 
carrying volunteers and supplies to Cuba; and 
while engaged in this business under the American 
flag, recognized by American consuls as an Ameri- 
can vessel, she was overhauled at sea on the 31st of 


CAPTAIN JOSEPH FRY 243 


October, 1873, by the Spanish man-of-war Tornado 
and declared a prize to the Spanish Government. 
Fry never dreamed of greater danger; he occupied 
the same position he had assumed while running the 
Federal blockade and the same as in the recent cases 
of the Commodore and the Bermuda. He was a 
merchantman, carried no guns, made no armed re- 
sistance, and flew the American flag. Notwithstand- 
ing all this, a drumhead court martial was held on 
board the Tornado and on the second day afterwards 
the unfortunate victims were condemned as pirates 
and sentenced to immediate execution at Santiago 
de Cuba, where the Spanish warship had arrived. 
Even then Captain Fry and his crew, who were 
nearly all Americans, expected a release through 
the intervention of the United States authorities. 
Vain hope! The American consul was absent; the 
vice-consul did what he could in vain; the Home 
Government was silent; the British consul protested, 
but without avail, and the butchery of these brave 
men began. We read from the newspaper accounts 
of the dreadful scene as the victims were ranged 
facing a wall. Captain Fry asked for a glass of 
water, which was given him by the friendly hand 
of one of his own race. He then walked with firm, 
unfaltering steps to the place assigned him, and 


244 DERELICTS 


calmly awaited the volley which ended his noble life. 

A touching incident occurred on the march to 
execution. When the brave man passed the Ameri- 
can Consulate, he gravely saluted the bare pole 
which should have borne the flag, once and again 
so dear to his heart, but which had failed him in 
his extremity. 

Although the firing party was only ten feet away, 
says the published account, Fry was the only one 
killed outright. Then ensued a horrible scene. 
“The Spanish butchers advanced to where the 
wounded men lay, writhing and moaning in agony, 
and placing the muzzles of their guns in the mouths 
of their victims, shattered their heads into frag- 
ments. Others were stabbed to death with knives 
and swords.” 

Fifty-three victims had suffered death, ninety- 
three more were made ready for execution; the 
bloody work was to be resumed, when an unlooked- 
for intervention came. The news had reached 
Jamaica, and it found in the harbor the British man- 
of-war Niobe under command of Capt. Sir Lamb- 
ton Lorraine, who, true to his Anglo-Saxon instincts, 
needed no orders to speed to the rescue. Leaving 
in such haste that many of his men were left behind, 
he steamed with forced draft to Santiago. Before 


CAPTAIN JOSEPH FRY 245 


the anchor reached the bottom of the harbor the 
Niobe’s drums had beat to quarters and the well- 
trained gunners were at their stations. 

Commander Lorraine ignored the customary for- 
malities; precious lives were trembling in the bal- 
ance; moments were vital. Before the Spanish gen- 
eral was made aware of his arrival, Lorraine stood 
before him and demanded that the execution be 
stayed. To Burriel’s unsatisfactory response the 
brave commander returned answer that in the ab- 
sence of an American man-of-war he would protect 
the interest of the Americans. Still the Spaniard 
hesitated; he had tasted human blood, but his thirst 
was not satisfied. Again the gallant Britisher de- 
manded an unequivocal answer, and, report says, 
confirmed it by a threat that he would bombard the 
town, as he had in Honduras for the protection of 
the Anglo-Saxon. His prompt, decisive action ar- 
rested the bloody work, and eventually saved the 
lives of the remainder of the crew of the Virginius. 

On his return to England some months later, Sir 
Lambton was detained some days in New York. 
The city authorities, animated by his gallant con- 
duct, tendered him a public reception, which was 
modestly declined. Virginia City, Nev., desiring to 
testify its appreciation of his noble humanity, for- 


a 
= 


AU Oy x a Lt 


246 DERELICTS 


warded to him a fourteen-pound brick of solid 
silver, upon which was inscribed his name and the 
incident, with the legend “Blood is thicker than 
water,” signifying also in Western eulogy “You're 
a brick.” 

A tardy recognition of the rights of American 
possession was made later by the Spanish Govern- 
ment, and the Virginius was delivered to an Ameri- 
can man-of-war. While towing the unfortunate 
craft off Cape Fear and bound for a Northern port, 
the Virginius sprang a leak, or, some say, was scut- 
tled, and found her grave in the ocean depths be- 
neath us. 


p 4iee 


RECAPTURE OF THE “EMILY ST. PIERRE.” 


The following strange story was told to me many 
years ago, and, although some of the details have 
been forgotten, the incident, which was declared to 
be quite true, led to one of the most extraordinary 
exploits of the War between the States in the famous 
recapture of the Emily St. Pierre. 

While Great Britain was at war with France in the 
year 1813, a small Scotch brig was approaching the 
British Channel on the last leg of her voyage from 
the West Indies for Greenock on the river Clyde. 
She had successfully eluded strange sails and the 
captain was quite hopeful of reaching his destina- 
tion without encountering a French privateer, but 
alas, when the brig was within a few days’ sail of 
the “land o’cakes,” a smarter vessel, bearing the tri- 
color at her peak, overhauled the Scotsman, and, 
with a round shot across her bows, compelled her 
surrender. A French prize crew was placed on 
board with orders to sail the brig to the nearest 
French port for adjudication. The Scotch captain 
and his cabin boy were retained on board as prison- 


247 


248 DERELICTS 


ers, the former to assist in the working of the brig 
and the latter to wait upon the prize crew. With the 
enemy’s flag apeak, the little brig was headed for 
the enemy’s country and was soon alone upon the 
sea. With the accustomed discipline of the man- 
of-war somewhat relaxed, the Frenchmen, wishing 
to make merry over their good fortune, sought 
among the brig stores the red wine to which they 
were accustomed, instead of which they broached a 
cask of Jamaica rum, under whose masterful potency 
they became as dead men. The Scotsman was 
quick to seize his opportunity, and with the lone 
assistance of his cabin boy he dragged every man 
Jack into his forecastle and securely tied them to 
their bunks; the officers were likewise secured in the 
cabin and the course of the brig laid straight and 
true again for bonnie Scotland. On the following 
morning while the brig was slowly proceeding under 
light canvas, which the master himself had set while 
the boy steered, another Frenchman gave chase and 
the hopes of the Scotsman gave way to despair as 
the swift cruiser overhauled him hand over hand. 
Turning to the French officer whom he had secured 
to the poop deck for the fresh air, he was astonished 
to find him in a state of terror instead of in triumph 
at the prospect of his release. Quickly the French- 


258 


RECAPTURE OF THE EMILY ST. PIERRE 249 


man explained in his own language, with which the 
Scotch captain was familiar, that his disgraceful 
plight and that of his crew would result in his speedy 
courtmartial and execution at the yard arm; that if 
the Scotch captain would accept his parole, restore 
to him his uniform and sword, assume with his cabin 
boy the uniforms of two of his Frenchmen, hoist 
the French ensign and leave the rest to him, he would 
extricate the brig, resume his bonds, and cast his lot 
in Scotland, for he could never see his own country 
again. This was quickly done, for the alternative 
but assured the brig’s recapture. On came the armed 
Frenchman. Boom! went one of her guns. The brig 
rounded to, and in response to his countryman’s hail, 
the quondam prize master shouted through his trum- 
pet that he was of the French privateer, in charge of 
a prize ship, taking her to a French port. The com- 
mander of. the armed vessel waved a salute and 
sailed away quite satisfied. The status quo ante of 
the brig was resumed, as arranged, the Clyde was 
reached in safety, and the descendants of the French 
prize crew can account for some of the mysterious 
French names still heard in the Scottish Highlands 
to this day. And, mirabile dictu, the cabin boy of 
the brig became the hero of the following true story 
and was subsequently well known as the captain of 


250 DERELICTS 


a Confederate blockade-running steamer into Wil- 
mington. It was during the fourth year of the war 
that this very extraordinary man, Capt. William 
Wilson, appeared in Cape Fear waters in command 
of a steamer which ran the blockade at Wilmington 
perhaps three or four times; but there was nothing 
unusual about this incident, and perhaps for that 
reason I have forgotten her name. There was, how- 
ever, something very unusual about Wilson, whose 
unequalled bravery in recapturing his ship the Emily 
St. Pierre, of Charleston, S. C., in 1861, was, of all 
the stirring incidents of the blockade, the most ad- 
mirable example of personal pluck and endurance. 
I have been told by a kinsman of Miss Emily St. 
Pierre, for whom the ship was named, that she still 
lives in Charleston, and I am repeating this story 
of Wilson’s wonderful exploits at his request. Al- 
though not strictly a story of the Cape Fear, it will 
be none the less interesting to our readers, and I re- 
produce the account published in Chambers’s Edin- 
burg Journal entitled ‘“‘“A Matter-of-Fact Story.” 
“On the morning of the 18th of March, 1862, 
the Liverpool ship Emily St. Pierre (William Wil- 
son, captain) arrived within about twelve miles of 
Charleston and signaled for a pilot. She had made 
a long and tedious voyage of four months from 


RECAPTURE OF THE EMILY ST. PIERRE 251 


Calcutta, bound for St. John, New Brunswick, call- 
ing at Charleston for orders if Charleston was open. 
If the Southern port was blockaded, Captain Wil- 
son’s orders were to proceed direct to the British 
port of St. John, New Brunswick. The ship had 
formerly belonged to Charleston, but since the out- 
break of the American Civil War she had sailed 
under the English flag. Her nominal owners were 
Messrs. Fraser, Trenholm & Co., of 10 Rumford 
Place, Liverpool, a firm doing an extensive business, 
who had very close relations with the Confederate 
or Southern States, for whom they acted as bankers 
and agents in this country. 

“Upon approaching the Charleston Bar, the ship 
was hailed by a vessel which proved to be the North- 
ern cruiser James Adger, and in response Captain 
Wilson hauled up his courses, backed his main yard, 
and lay to. An American nayal lieutenant and a 
score of men came on board and demanded his 
papers. The manifest showed an innocent cargo, 
2,000 bales of gunny bags, and the registration of 
the ship as English was in due order. Charleston 
being blockaded, the captain demanded permission 
to proceed to his destination, the British port of St. 
John. The lieutenant refused, and referred the 
matter to his superior in command; and the two 


252 DERELICTS 


vessels proceeded into Charleston roadstéad, where 
they arrived at half past two in the afternoon. 
“Captain Wilson was ordered on board the flag- 
ship of the blockading squadron, the Florida, where 
he was kept for two hours in solitude and suspense. 
At last a flag officer, Captain Goldsboro, came to 
him and said they had decided to seize the Emily 
St. Pierre on several grounds. He asserted that she 
carried contraband of war—namely, saltpeter; that 
her English registration was not bona fide; that 
many articles on board had been found bearing the 
name Charleston; that the same word had been 
scraped out on her stern and the name Liverpool 
substituted; that Captain Wilson had not disclosed 
all his papers, but had been observed from the 
James Adger to throw overboard and sink a small 
parcel, probably of incriminating documents. Cap- 
tain Wilson protested and appealed to the mari- 
time law of nations, but in vain. He was informed 
that the law courts of Philadelphia would adjudicate 
the matter; and finally Captain Wilson was invited 
to take passage in his vessel to Philadelphia and to 
place at the disposal of the navigator his charts and 
instruments. The invitation in form was in fact a 
command. He returned to his vessel to find that 
his crew had all been removed, with the excep- 


RECAPTURE OF THE EMILY ST. PIERRE 253 


tion of two who were not sailors—the steward, 
named Matthew Montgomery, and the cook, named 
Louis Scheylin, hailing from Frankfort-on-the-Main. 
These were merely passengers and with them was 
an American engineer who had obtained permission 
to take passage to Philadelphia. 

“The prize crew who took charge of the vessel 
consisted of Lieutenant Stone, of the United States 
Navy, in command; a master’s mate and twelve men, 
fourteen in all; with the American passenger, fif- 
teen. The moment that Captain Wilson again 
stepped aboard his own vessel, he formed the reso- 
lution to recapture her and take her home. He was 
bold enough to think that it might be possible to 
recapture the ship even against such odds. An un- 
armed man, aided by the questionable support of 
a steward and a cook, was practically powerless 
against the fifteen of the crew. On the other hand, 
Captain Wilson was a brawny, big-framed Scotsman 
(a native of Dumfriesshire), a thorough seaman, 
determined in resolve, cool and prompt in action. 
He called the steward and the cook to him in his 
stateroom and disclosed the wild project he had 
formed. Both manfully promised to stand by their 
chief. This was at half past four on the morning 
of the 21st of March, the third day out from 


254 DERELICTS 


Charleston. Captain Wilson had already formed 
his plan of operations, and had prepared to a cer- 
tain extent for carrying it out. With the promise 
of the cook and the steward secured, he lost no time, 
gave them no chance for their courage to evaporate, 
but proceeded at once in the darkness and silence of 
the night to carry out his desperate undertaking. He 
was prepared to lose his life or to have his ship; 
that was the simple alternative. 

“It was Lieutenant Stone’s watch on deck, and 
the prize master’s mate was asleep in his berth. The 
Scotch captain went into the berth, handed out the 
mate’s sword and revolvers, clapped a gag made of 
a piece of wood and some marline between his teeth, 
seized his hands, which Montgomery, the steward, 
quickly ironed, and so left him secure. ‘The lieu- 
tenant still paced the deck, undisturbed by a sound. 
Then across to another stateroom, where the Ameri- 
can engineer lay asleep. He also was gagged and 
ironed silently and without disturbance. His revol- 
vers and those already secured were given to the 
steward and the cook, who remained below in the 
cabin. Captain Wilson went on deck. 

“Lieutenant Stone was pacing the deck, and the 
watch consisted of one man at the helm, one at the 


lookout, on the forecastle, and three others who 


RECAPTURE OF THE EMILY ST. PIERRE 255 


were about the ship. For ten minutes Captain Wil- 
son walked up and down, remarking on the fair 
wind, and making believe that he had just turned 
out. The ship was off Cape Hatteras, midway of 
their journey between Charleston and Philadelphia, 
the most easterly projection of the land on that 
coast. It is difficult navigation thereabouts, with the 
cross currents and a tendency to fogs, affording the 
two captains subject for talk. 

“Let her go free a bit, Captain Stone; you are 
too close to the cape. I tell you and I know.’ 

‘““ “We have plenty of offing,’ replied the lieuten- 
ant; and then to the helmsman: ‘How’s her head?’ 
“ ‘Northeast and by east, sir,’ came the reply. 

‘““*Keep her so. I tell you it is right,’ said the 
lieutenant. 

“Well, of course J am not responsible now, but 
I am an older sailor than you, Captain Stone, and 
I tell you if you want to clear Hatteras, another 
two points east will do no harm. Do but look at 
my chart; I left it open on the cabin table. And 
the coffee will be ready now,’ and Captain Wilson 
led the way from the poop to the cabin, followed by 
the commander. 

‘There was a passage about five yards long lead- 
ing from the deck to the cabin, a door at either end. 


256 DERELICTS 


The captain stopped at the first door, closing it, and 
picking from behind it an iron belaying pin which 
he had placed there. The younger man went for- 
ward to the cabin where the chart lay upon the table. 

“‘Stone!’ The lieutenant turned at the sudden 
peremptory exclamation of his name. His arm up- 
raised, the heavy iron bolt in his hand, in low, but 
hard, eager, quick words, ‘My ship shall never go to 
Philadelphia!’ said the captain. He did not strike. 
It was unnecessary. Montgomery had thrust the 
gag in the young lieutenant’s mouth; he was bound 
hand and foot, bundled into a berth, and the door 
locked. Three out of fifteen were thus disposed of. 
There was still the watch on deck and the watch 
below. 

“The construction of the Emily St. Pierre was of 
a kind not unusual, but still not very common. The 
quarters of the crew were not in the forecastle, but 
in a roundhouse amidships. The name does not de- 
scribe its shape. It was an oblong house on deck 
with windows and one door. From the poop, or 
upper deck, at the stern, over the cabins and state- 
rooms and the passage before mentioned, there was 
a companion stair on the port side leading to the 
deck at the waist; whilst a similar companionway at 
the stern led down to the level of the deck, which 


RECAPTURE OF THE EMILY ST. PIERRE 2057 


could also be approached direct from the cabins 
through the passage. In this space, behind the poop, 
was the wheel, slightly raised, for the steersman to 
see clear of the poop; and there was a hatchway 
leading to the lazaret hold, a small supplementary 
hold usually devoted to stores, extra gear, coils of 
spare rope, and so on. Nothing that might be done 
on this part of the deck could be seen, therefore, 
from the waist of the ship; vice versa, except by the 
steersman, who was elevated by a step or two above 
the level. 

“Coming on this part of the deck from the cabin, 
Captain Wilson called to the three men who were 
about, and pointing to a heavy coil of rope in the 
lazaret, ordered them to get it up at once—Lieu- 
tenant Stone’s orders. They jumped down without 
demur, suspecting nothing, as soon as the captain 
shoved the hatch aside. They were no sooner in 
than he quickly replaced and fastened the hatch. 
The three were securely trapped in full view of the 
helmsman, whose sailor’s instinct kept him in his 
place at the wheel. 

“Tf you utter a sound or make a move,’ said the 
captain, showing a revolver, ‘I'll blow your brains 
out!’ and then he called aft the lookout man, the 
last of the watch on deck. The man came aft. 


258 DERELICTS 


Would he help to navigate the ship to England? 
No; he would not. He was an American. Then 
would he call the watch? He would do that. And 
eagerly he did it; but the next moment he was laid 
low on the deck, and bundled unceremoniously into 
the lazaret with his three companions, the hatchway 
replaced and secured, Captain Wilson standing on 
guard near by. 

“Meanwhile the watch below had been called and 
were astir. When sailors tumble out they generally 
do so gradually and by twos and threes. The first 
two that came aft were quickly overpowered, one 
at a time, and bound. The third man drew his knife 
and dashed at the steward, who fired, wounding him 
severely in the shoulder. It was the only shot that 
was fired. Finding that cook and steward and cap- 
tain were all armed, the rest of the watch below 
quietly surrendered, and submitted to be locked in 
the roundhouse, prisoners of the bold and resolute 
man who in the course of an hour had thus regained 
possession of his ship against overwhelming odds. 

“For England! Yes, homeward bound in an un- 
seaworthy ship; for a ship that is undermanned is 
unseaworthy to the last degree. It is worse than 
overloading. And here is our brave captain 3,000 
miles from home calmly altering her course the few 


RECAPTURE OF THE EMILY ST. PIERRE 209 


points eastward he had recommended to the lieu- 
tenant, homeward bound for England, his crew a_ 
steward and acook! Neither could steer, nor hand, 
nor reef. Brave-hearted Matthew Montgomery, 
honest Louis Schevlin, now is the time to show what 
savor of seamanship you have picked up amongst 
your pots and pans of the galley and the pantry. 

“The first thing was to wash and bandage the 
wounded shoulder of the man who was shot, the 
‘next to put all the prisoners in the roundhouse under 
lock and key. Four of them out of twelve volun- 
teered to assist in working the ship rather than sub- 
mit to the tedium of imprisonment. The irony of 
fate. But one of the four could steer, and he im- 
perfectly. And the courses are set, and the topsails, 
lower and upper, are drawing and the topgallant 
sails, too—pray Heaven this wind may last and no 
stronger. 

“The lieutenant was admitted to the captain’s 
table under guard and on parole. The meal over, 
he was ushered into his stateroom and locked in. 
Once a day only—for the captain is captain and 
crew combined—bread and beef and water were 
passed to the prisoners in the roundhouse; no more 
attention than absolutely necessary could be spared 
to them. 


Hi 


“Homeward bound! Captain Wilson had over- 
come his captors; could he overcome the elements? 
The glass was falling, the wind was rising, threat- 
ening a gale. The reef tackles were passed to the 
capstan, so that one man’s strength could haul them. 
Then the wheel was resigned to the Irish steward 
and German cook, whilst the captain had to lie 
aloft and tie the reef points, ever and anon casting 
a look behind and signaling to his faithful men how 
to move the wheel. Hours of hard work, fearful 
anxiety before all is made snug to meet the fury 
of the coming storm. All is right at last, thought 
the captain, if everything holds. 

“Yes, if. Everything did not hold. The tiller 
was carried away in the midst of the gale, and Cap- 
tain Wilson, brave heart as he was, felt the sadness 
of despair. He had been keeping watch day and 
night without intermission for many days, snatching 
an hour’s sleep at intervals, torn with anxiety, 
wearied with work. It was but a passing faintness 
of the heart. The ship rolled and tossed, helmless, 
at the mercy of the sea. For twelve hours he 
wrought to rig up a jury rudder, and at last, lifting 
up his heart in gratitude, for the second time he 
snatched his ship out of the hands of destruction; 
for the second time he could inform Lieutenant 


260 DERELICTS 


RECAPTURE OF THE EMILY ST. PIERRE 261 


Stone that he was in command of his own ship. No 
longer was the ship buffetted at the mercy of the 
wild wind and the cruel Atlantic rollers, but her 
course was laid true and her head straight—for 
England. 

“For thirty days they sailed with westerly gales 
behind them. They made the land in safety, and 
the code signal was hoisted as they passed up the 
English Channel. On the morning of the 21st of 
April, exactly one month since her course was altered 
on Cape Hatteras, the Emily St. Pierre threaded the 
devious channels which led into the broad estuary 
of the Mersey, the anchor fell with a plunge and 
an eager rattle of the leaping cable, and the ship 
rode stately on the rushing tide. 

“Much was made of Captain Wilson during the 
next few weeks. All England rang with applause 
of his brave exploit. Meetings were convened, pres- 
entations were made, speeches were delivered to the 
extent that might have turned the head of a less 
simple and true-hearted man. Large sums of money 
were subscribed, of which plucky Matthew Mont- 
gomery and honest Louis Schevlin, the cook, got 
their share. But probably the happiest and proud- 
est moment of his life was when the captain stood 
on deck on the day of the arrival, his wife by his 


262 DERELICTS 


side, near her the owner of the ship, Charles K. 
Prioleau, of Fraser, Trenholm & Co., whilst he 
narrated in simple words the story of his exploit. 
His big beard was torn and ragged, his eyes blood- 
shot with weariness and loss of sleep, his face hag- 
gard, weather-beaten, and drawn; but he was a man 
of whom all Britain was proud, a man to inspire 
her with the faith that the race of heroes does not 
die.” 


THE “LILIAN’S” LAST SUCCESSFUL RUN. 


The four years of blockade running, from 1861 
to 1865, were so crowded with incidents and ad- 
ventures of an extraordinary and startling nature 
that each day brought a new and novel experience. 

I recall my first day under fire, the trembling 
knees, the terrifying scream of the approaching 
shells, the dread of instant death. Again, the no- 
table storm at sea in which our ship was buffetted 
and lashed by the waves until the straining steel 
plates cut the rivets and the fireroom was flooded 
and the engines stopped, while the tempest tossed 
us helpless upon’ the mountainous waves and all 
hope of our lives was gone, until we were merci- 
fully cast upon a reef which extends about thirty 
miles from Bermuda. Again, when our party of 
five persons, endeavoring to reach the Confederacy 
in a small launch after the fall of Fort Fisher, was 
cast away the second day upon Green Turtle Cay, 
an obscure island of the Bahamas, where we dwelt 
in a negro’s hut for three weeks, and then foolishly 
risked our lives again for two weeks at sea in a 


263 


264 DERELICTS 


small boat which landed us in the surf among the 
man-eating sharks off Cape Canaveral, in Florida. 

In the narration of these reminiscences of war 
times on the Cape Fear, I have adhered to facts, 
supported, when in doubt, by official records. In the 
following story of my personal adventures, I have 
written some extraordinary incidents which came 
under my observation, although not in the sequence 
described; and the romantic features are based on 
a true incident of the war, the hero of which, Cap- 
tain M , still lives in an honored old age. For 
uniformity, I have changed the text as it appeared 
in the Charlotte Observer many years ago, by the 
substitution of real names. 


AsBsTRACT Loc oF U. S. S. “SHENANDOAH.” 

“Saturday, July 30, 1864. At meridian, latitude 
(D. R.) 33 50 N.; longitude (D. R.) 76 16 W., 
latitude (observed) 34 o1 N., longitude (by chro- 
nometer) 76 10 W. At 3.45 p.) Mi Signeeeee 
steamer burning black smoke to the eastward; made 
all sail in chase. At 4.30 p. m. made stranger out 
to be a double smokestack, side-wheel steamer, ap- 
parently a blockade runner, standing to the north- 
ward and westward. At 5.45 he showed rebel 
colors. Called the first division and powder division 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 265 


to quarters and began to fire at her with the 30 and 
150 pounder rifle Parrott. At 6 p. m. boat to quar- 
ters and fired all the divisions. At 7 p. m. took in 
fore-topgallant sail and foresail. At 7.30 took in 
fore-topsail. During the chase fired 7o rounds 
from 30-pounder Parrott, 18 rounds from 11-inch 
guns, and one round from 24-pounder howitzer. At 
8 p. m. stopped firing, gave up the chase, stopped 
engines. At 9.20 Cape Lookout Light bore N. E. 
by N., 14 miles distant. Sounded in 12 fathoms of 
water. First saw the steamer in latitude 33 34, N., 
longitude 76 33 W. At midnight Cape Lookout 
Light bore N. E. by N. %4 N., distant seventeen 
miles. 
“(Signed) Actinc Master, U. S. Navy.” 


This matter-of-fact entry, read at random from 
the official records of the war, stirs my blood, be- 
cause I, then seventeen years of age, was purser of 
that blockade runner, and it was I who hoisted those 
“rebel” colors on that eventful day fifty-five years 
ago; and thereby hangs a tale. 

The steamer Lilian was one of the most successful 
examples of a Clyde-built blockade runner of 1864 
in design and equipment. Of 500 tons net register, 
with two rakish funnels, the finest marine oscillat- 


266 DERELICTS 


ing engines, a battery of boilers which drove her 
fifteen knots an hour, and loaded to her marks, she 
presented to the critical eye the graceful appear- 
ance of a racing yacht. A thing of beauty and a 
joy forever she was to all of us on board, and our 
beloved chief, the celebrated John Newland Mafitt, 
no less, was, we thought, the man of all men to com- 
mand her. Unluckily for us he was ordered to take 
charge of the ram Albemarle, which the intrepid 
Cushing later destroyed—the most conspicuous ex- 
ample of personal daring recorded in the history 
of the war. 

Another Southern man succeeded him, and, we 
having received from the Confederate agent a cargo 
of mysterious packages, which was most carefully 
handled, proceeded from St. George, Bermuda, 
bound for the port of Wilmington, N. C. This 
desired haven of these fugitives of the sea was pre- 
ferred to the more difficult blockaded ports farther 
south. There were two inlets, Main Bar or West- 
ern Channel, commanded by Fort Caswell, and New 
Inlet, guarded by that Malakoff of the South, Fort 
Fisher. 

Many fine ships were lost in sight of these de- 
fenses when daylight overtook a belated landfall, 
and it was pitiful to watch the desperate efforts of 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 267 


the little greyhounds to run the gauntlet of the fleet, 
whose concentrated fire at close range sometimes 
drove them among the breakers, where many wrecks 
may still be seen after all these years. There were 
many more fortunate, whose daring roused to the 
highest pitch of enthusiasm the brave fellows of the 
Confederate garrison who manned the protecting 
guns which kept the fleet at a respectful distance. 

As we passed the ships which lined the docks of 
the friendly islands of Bermuda, their crews were 
mustered and cheer after cheer greeted us from 
lusty throats in unison. Beyond the bar we sailed 
upon a tranquil sea, without a sail in sight, and then 
I paid each man his bounty of $40 gold, an earnest 
of the greater sum which he would get for a suc- 
cessful run. ° 

Upon our ship the discipline was rigorous and 
unrelenting. To each was given in few words his 
orders for the run; sobriety, silence, and civility 
were enforced. Our Chief Engineer Lockhart, 
Chief Officer Vogel, Pilot Jim Billy Craig, our Sig- 
nal Officer Fred Gregory and I were served at the 
captain’s table; the other officers messed together. 
Our crew numbered 48 men. 

When night drew on the finest Welsh coal was 
picked and piled upon the boiler-room plates, for 


268 DERELICTS 


use in an emergency, and the dexterous handling of 
the dampers prevented the telltale sparks from be- 
traying our dangerous course across the line of the 
ever-watchful cruisers, which formed their cordon 
around the Bermudas, upon the edge of the Gulf 
Stream, and across the most dangerous approaches 
to the Cape Fear River. No lights were permitted, 
smoking was inhibited, as, through impenetrable 
darkness, we ran full speed for Dixie’s land. 

A double watch was kept aloft, and upon the 
turtleback well forward, and the keenest eyes were 
fixed upon the course to guard against a collision 
with watchful cruisers, which also masked their 
lights. 

Next in importance to the Wilmington pilot, Jim 
Billy Craig, who was a man of great ability, was a 
long thin fellow, a landsman, a nondescript known 
as “‘the watchman,” who held himself in readiness 
day and night for service as a special lookout. This 
person’s vision was wonderfully clear and far-reach- 
ing. He could see an object on the darkest night 
quite invisible to the rest of us, and his most eff- 
cient service was in the hour before daylight, when 
proximity to Uncle Sam’s gunboats was most unde- 
sirable. Several easy captures had been made in 
the first streak of dawn by the accidental meeting 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCESSFUL RUN 269 


of a casual cruiser and his unhappy quarry, when 
escape by speed was simply impossible. It was for 
this reason that our Long Tom was retained at high 
wages, which he squandered with other prodigals 
in playing crackaloo with double gold eagles. It 
was a simple game; two or more persons each 
threw up a gold piece, the one falling upon a joint 
or crack in the deck winning the others which fell 
between the lines. This was forbidden at sea, but 
such discipline was relaxed in port. 

Our first night at sea was clear and beautiful, the 
air, cool and grateful, contrasted with the severe 
and at times almost suffocating warmth of the lime- 
stone islands. After the evening meal, Gregory and 
I, snugly ensconced in the lee of the cabin, which was 
on deck, sat far into the night gazing with wonder 
upon the tranquil glory of the stars, which shone 
with exceeding splendor, and talking with sad hearts 
of the waning light of the star of the Confederacy, 
which had reached its zenith at Chancellorsville and 
which sank so disastrously at the later battle of 
Gettysburg. The wind was light, but the rush of 
the staunch little ship at full speed brought to our 
listening ears the faint sound of a bell, not that of 
a ship striking the change of the watch, but a con- 
tinuous peal of irregular strokes. Ina few moments 


270 DERELICTS 


it ceased, and I have often wondered what it meant, 
for no sail was visible that night. Alert and eager 
for its repetition, which came not, our wonderment 
was increased by the cry of a human voice in the 
darkness ahead, which was also observed by the 
lookouts aloft and alow, and, while Long Tom was 
rapidly climbing the ratlines of the foremast to the 
crosstrees, our captain appeared on the bridge and 
brought the ship to a full stop. In painful silence 
all eyes and ears were strained to catch a sight or 
sound from the mysterious object ahead. Again 
and again the long-drawn, wailing cry. Could it be 
a castaway? ‘The sailor’s instinct and sympathy is 
never so much aroused as by such an incident. 
Shifting our course a point or two, we proceeded 
slowly ahead; the cry grew clearer, with despairful 
lamentations; again our course was changed, the 
paddles slowly turning. Ignoring the usual precau- 
tion of silence on board at night, the captain or- 
dered the officer of the deck to answer with a hail. 
Immediately the voice responded, and in a few mo- 
ments Long Tom reported to the commander on 
the bridge, “A nigger in a ship’s boat, sir.” 
“What,” said the captain, “can he be doing out 
here in a boat 160 miles from land?” “I’m blessed 
if I know, sir, but I’m telling you the truth.” “Cast- 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 271 


away, sir, close aboard,” was the second officer’s re- 
port a few moments later. ‘“Heave him a line,” 
said the commander. The falls of the davits were 
soon hooked on and the boat, with its lonesome 
occupant, hoisted to the deck. The next morning, 
when I was dressing, the chief steward knocked at 
my door and gravely asked if I would see the man 
whom we had rescued the night before, “‘for,’’ said 
he, “there is something mysterious about his plight 
which he refuses to make known to me.”’ On going 
forward I found a negro man of about fifty years 
of age, apparently in deep distress; mutual recog- 
nition was instantaneous; the poor fellow fell at my 
feet and embraced my knees, with broken sobs of 
“Oh, Marse Jeems, Marse Jeems, Marse Jeems!”’ 
His story was soon told in the homely and pathetic 
vernacular of the old-time Southern darkey. He 
had long been the butler and body servant of my 
friend at Orton plantation, whose lovely daughter 
had given her heart to a manly young neighbor be- 
fore he went away to the war which had desolated 
many Southern homes. The fearful news of dis- 
aster had come from Gettysburg, in which her lover 
was engaged with his company on Culp’s Hill. He 
had been shot through the lungs and was left dying 
on the field, which was later occupied by the enemy. 


272 DERELICTS 


Then a veil was drawn, for all subsequent inquiries 
as to his death and the disposal of his body were 
unavailing. The poor girl at Orton, grief stricken, 
haunted by fears of the worst, and mocked by her 


efforts to seek him beyond the lines, slowly faded to ~ 


a shadow of her former self. Again and again my 
friend returned from a hopeless search among the 
living and the dead, when, he, too, began to pine 
away, for the war had robbed him of all but the 
child whom he adored, and now she was slipping 
away from him. It was then that this Nature’s 
nobleman in a black skin came forward and desired 
his liberty to go through the lines in Virginia and 
never return until he brought the body dead, or 


news of his young master living, to the dear mistress. 


whom he loved more than his own life. In vain my 
friend refused. How could he, a slave, overcome 
obstacles which the master, with all his influence, 
had failed to overcome? At last he gave the de- 
sired pass to proceed to the missing boy’s command 
upon this mission of mercy, which was counter- 
signed by the proper authority, and the faithful fel- 
low proceeded on foot toward his destination. What 
followed, “‘in weariness and painfulness, in watchings 
often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold 


and nakedness,’”’ would fill a volume. He reached 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 273 


the regiment at last, and carried to many hungry 
hearts the news of their loved ones at home, but he 
was told that his quest was in vain; the captain was 
dead, a Federal surgeon who approached, him on 
the field had found his wounds mortal, had received 
from him his sword, to be sent home to the young 
mistress, with fond words of his devotion.to the 
last; he had better return home. But no, he at- 
tempted that night to slip through the lines toward 
the Federal Army; he was caught, brought back, 
and sentenced to be shot at sunrise. How he was 
saved, as by a miracle, through the recognition of 
the officer of the firing squad, and sent back to Wil- 
mington need not be told. 

He had formed another desperate resolve—he 
would go to Orton in the night, and in a frail bateau 
attempt to pass the picket boats at Fort Anderson 
and Fort Fisher, and reach the blockading fleet be- 
yond the bar. Perhaps when they heard his story 
they would take pity and send him North, when he 
might resume his search. He had crossed the river 
by the Market Street ferry and was passing through 
the cotton yard, where several blockade runners 
were loading their outward cargoes, when a new 
idea came to him; why could he not go as a steward 
on a steamer, and, with his wages, reach the North 


274 DERELICTS 


by way of the West Indies? With deferential hu- 
mility he approached the captain of a steamer, 
which shall be nameless. He was not an American, 
neither was he a man in the sense of the noblest 
work of God; he was the embodiment of a personal 
devil; he laughed the old man to scorn; he had car- 
ried away on previous voyages runaway niggers, 
who, he said, had stowed away, and he had been 
obliged to pay for them on his return; the next one 
he caught at sea on board his ship would wish he 
had never been born; he didn’t need a steward, and 
he did not doubt his tale of the young master was 
a lie. As the poor man turned away he was drawn 
aside by a kindly steward who had overheard the 
conversation, and, after much discussion and ap- 
prehension, he agreed to arrange a secret passage 
to Bermuda. That night he was stowed away, 
where it was hoped that the cruel process of fumi- 
gation for the discovery of fugitive slaves and de- 
serters from the army, then in vogue before sail- 
ing, would not reach him. Cramped by the narrow 
space which forbade lying down, and deathly sea- 
sick, on the second night he crawled out for fresh 
air, was detected and seized by a passing sailor and 
reported to the captain. Infuriated by his recog- 
nition of the stowaway, he actually stopped the ship 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 275 


and set the poor wretch adrift in a leaky boat, with- 
out oars or food or water. It was on the second 
night after that he heard the mysterious bell and 
shrieked aloud for deliverance. 

Although these qualities were not a common pos- 
session, this remarkable instance of a slave's de- 
votion to his owner was not exceptional. There 
were hundreds and perhaps thousands of such ex- 
amples, especially on the part of those whose duties 
were of a domestic nature. It was not the evolu- 
tion of gentle traits of character, for this man’s 
grandfather had lived and died a savage in the 
wilds of Africa. It was the result of daily contact 
with refined and kindly people whom he served, 
whose characteristic urbanity was unconsciously imi- 
tated, and whose consideration for others, which 
constitutes true politeness, was reflected in their 
servitor’s devotion. I have a pensioner at Orton 
who is ninety-four years of age. He was the per- 
sonal servant in his youth of Doctor Porcher, of 
Charleston. He is as polite as a cultivated French- 
man might be, but he is sincere in speech. He uses 
at times French phrases. He can tell you in pol- 
ished language, and with becoming deference, of the 
grand people of the exclusive set of Charleston of 
long ago, and his solicitude for your health and for 


276 DERELICTS 


that of everyone connected with you whom he has 
never heard of is shown in expressions of old-time 
gentility, but he belongs to a class that is passing 
away. 

I have up to this time refrained from mentioning 
the fact that we had on board, as passengers, three 
important personages of the old Navy, whose duty, 
as they saw it, impelled them to resign their com- 
Missions in a service which was dear to them, and 
to cast in their lot for weal or woe with the fortunes 
of their native State, which had seceded from the 
Union. They had served with distinction afloat and 
around the world upon a noted Confederate war 
vessel, and they were under orders to report to Sec- 
retary Mallory at Richmond. At the time of which 
I write there were in Nassau and in Bermuda cer- 
tain spies said to have been in the pay of the Fed- 
eral Government, and they sometimes succeeded in 
passing themselves, disguised and under assumed 
names, as sailors and firemen, but more frequently 
as stewards on the blockade runners that were not 
careful enough in the selection of their crew. By 
this means much valuable information was commu- 
nicated to the authorities at Washington, and the 
mysterious loss of several fine blockade runners was 
attributed to the seditious influence of such persons 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 277 


in time of peril. There were also in each of our 
foreign ports of refuge a few fanatics, who, con- 
trary to the usages of war, and upon their own 
initiative and responsibility, attempted the destruc- 
tion of Confederate steamers at sea by secretly hid- 
ing in their bunkers imitation lumps of coal, con- 
taining explosives of sufficient power to sink a ves- 
sel when this object was shoveled into the furnaces 
under the boilers. Several such attempts had been 
frustrated because the deception was clumsy and 
easily detected in time by the coal passers, and I 
remember that these nefarious undertakings were 
frequently discussed by the engineers of our ship. 
Meanwhile, I observed with some curiosity that 
we were off our regular course, and also, with feel- 
ings of dismay, that we were approaching a long, 
low, rakish-looking war vessel, barque-rigged and 
under steam, which was evidently lying to and await- 
ing us, but my apprehension was changed to won- 
der and amazement as I beheld flying apeak the new 
white flag of the Confederacy. It was a sight I 
shall never forget; alone upon the wide sea, hunted 
by a hundred adversaries, the corvette Florida, 
under the gallant Mafftt, had circumnavigated the 
globe and spread consternation among the merchant 
marine of the Stars and Stripes without the loss of 


278 DERELICTS 


a man. She was a beautiful vessel and had been 
handled with consummate skill and daring. There 
was something pathetic in the object of our meet- 
ing, which had been secretly prearranged, for a 
boat was immediately lowered, into which were 
placed sundry parcels of opium for the hospital 
service of the Southern Army, probably from the 
hold of one of her prizes; and this sympathetic of- 
fering from these homeless fellows on the high sea 
to their sick and wounded comrades in the field hos- 
pitals, for the mitigation of their sufferings, ap- 
pealed strongly to our hearts. 

We tarried briefly, dipping in a parting salute to 
each other our respective ensigns, probably the first 
and the last time that the conquered banner was 
used to exchange courtesies with the same flag at 
sea. [he corvette proceeded under her new com- 
mander, Capt. Charles M. Morris, cruising near 
and far until she reached Bahia, Brazil, in which 
neutral port she was attacked while disarmed, and 
captured at night by the Wachusett, and later, it is 
said, was conveniently cast away near the last rest- 
ing place of her famous commander, Captain 
Mafitt. 

Our third and last day at sea began auspiciously, 
but we were drawing toward the coast much farther 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCESSFUL RUN 279 


north than our usual landfall. At about half past 
three in the afternoon we were startled by the look- 
out in the crow’s nest, with a lusty ‘Sail ho!” 
““Whereaway?” called the officer of the watch. “On 
the port quarter, sir, heading toward us.”” We were 
in a bad position, to the northward of Cape Look- 
out, but the stranger had not yet perceived us. In 
our eagerness for more steam, however, the telltale 
smoke was vomited from our funnels, and in a short 
time it was evident that we were being overhauled 
by a faster vessel under crowded canvas and full 
steam. The rising wind favored him, because we 
had but two sails, fore and aft, which served to 
steady us in a seaway, but this added little to our 
speed. As the stranger drew rapidly nearer, push- 
ing us toward a lee shore, she opened fire with her 
rifled cannon, and for the first time’ in my life I 
heard the scream of a hostile shell as it passed be- 
tween our funnels and plunged into the sea a half 
mile beyond. The sensation was most unpleasant; 
had we been able to return the fire, the excitement 
of battle must have been exhilarating, but to be 
hunted like a rabbit and pelted with Parrott shells 
and 11-inch projectiles was enough to reduce my 
backbone to such laxation that my trembling knees 
refused to bear it. The cruiser’s aim was deadly, 


280 DERELICTS 


for the 11-inch shells came tumbling end over end 
with such fearful accuracy that many of them passed 
only a few feet from my head. Others sent the 
salt spray flying into our faces; and yet there were, 
up to six o'clock, no casualties of any importance. 
The admirable conduct of our naval passengers soon 
inspired me with courage—such is the influence of 
veterans beside raw troops—and, strangely enough, 
as the firing of single batteries was changed to 
broadsides, my despairful feelings gave way té-..ope 
and confidence. Our pursuer was now fairly abeam 
and sailing the same course. Why she did not de- 
stroy us utterly at such short range must have ap- 
peared to them incomprehensible, because we easily 
distinguished without glasses the movements of their 
gunners and the working of their crew at quarters; 
and our purster must have been surprised at the 
audacity of our passengers, who tranquilly measured 
with their watches the intervals between the firing 
of his projectiles and their passage overhead. They 
also used their sextants continuously during the 
chase, and it was doubtless owing to their superior 
knowledge and fortitude that our commander held 
on his course in the face of imminent destruction, 
for, be it remembered, we were loaded to the hatch 
combings with gunpowder for Lee’s army. As the 


“a 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 281 


sun sank lower on the horizon, so sank our hopes 
of escape, for every moment seemed to be drawing 
us nearer to the end. Even our passengers became 
disheartened and said at last that it was a useless 
risk to all the lives on board. ‘They accordingly 
proceeded to their cabins and destroyed their offi- 
cial papers, and threw overboard some valuable side 
arms and rifles, and I, by the captain’s orders, took 
the Confederate mail bag and government dis- 
patches to the furnace and saw them go up in smoke. 
Orders were now given to lower the boats to the 
rail, for what purpose I do not know, when a 
strange thing happened. There was a loud explo- 
sion in the forward fireroom, not made by the burst- 
ing of a shell but accompanied by a cloud of steam. 
Immediately the stokers and firemen swarmed up the 
iron ladders to the deck, terror-stricken and bewil- 
dered. They had been kept at their work for hours 
at the point of a pistol in the hands of desperate and 
determined men, but now, panic-stricken, they rushed 
aft, not knowing what they would do. Our chief 
engineer quietly reported the collapse of one of our 
boilers, cause unknown, steam reduced nearly one- 
half in consequence, but our slackened speed proved 
to be the means of our salvation. The sun had gone 
behind a cloud bank, a mist hung over the land to 


282 DERELICTS 


leeward, our ship, painted the dull grey color of the 
sand dunes along the shore line, was obscured from 
the view of the enemy, which was quite visible to us, 
forging ahead and firing wildly. Our engines were 
stopped and sails lowered, every eye was upon the 
cruiser. Would she discover our desperate expedi- 
ent? Had she done so, I believe our crew would 
have been ordered to the boats and the Lilian aban- 
doned, with a lighted fuse for her destruction. But 
the cruiser drew farther away, firing his broadsides 
at an invisible foe. Cautiously and slowly we limped 
to windward, crossing the wake of our discomfited 
antagonist, and laying our course straight and true 
for Wilmington. It was now eight o’clock in the 
evening, a hundred miles between us and our dan- 
gerous destination, and daylight comes early in the 
summer months. By the closest calculation we 
might, without accidents, reach the Cape Fear by 
sunrise, and then in our disabled condition how could 
we hope to run the gauntlet of the blockading fleet? 
It was resolved to do it or die. Fortune had fa- 
vored us in an extremity, perhaps she would still be 
kind. We had an anxious night; sleep, even after 
the excitement and exhaustion of the previous day, 
was impossible. We saw the first faint streaks of 
day off Masonboro Sound, where our watchful 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 283 


Gregory picked up the signal lights ashore and 
passed the word along the beach for our protection 
by the fort. It was a cloudy morning; on and on 
we drove the little ship; she seemed to feel the crisis 
while she labored like a sentient being to meet her 
fate as speedily as possible. At last, in the friendly 
haze of dawn, we were among them; blockaders to 
the right of us, blockaders to the left of us, block- 
aders ahead of us loomed up like monsters of the 
deep. Craig coolly but anxiously peered ahead. 
Long Tom, well forward on the turtleback, whis- 
pered the words which a line of picked men reported 
to the bridge. Again and again we stopped for the 
passage of a picket barge or gunboat in the dark- 
ness ahead, who saw us not, and for the bearings, 
which in our devious course we had lost in con- 
fusion. Once more we slowly proceeded, when sud- 
denly, out of the darkness and close aboard, flashed 
the fiery train of a rocket, and a deep, commanding 
voice, just over the side, shouted ‘‘Heave to, or I'll 
sink you.” Quickly our bridge responded “Aye, aye, 
sir, we stop the engines.” ‘Back your engines, sir, 
and stand by for my boats,” called the lusty man-of- 
war. But our paddles were not reversed. Lockhart 
said he never heeded such an order with the bar at 
hand; on the contrary our engines were evidently 


284 DERELICTS 


running away with the ship, and, while the confident 
blockader, diverted from his guns, was engaged in 
lowering his boats, the Lilian was gliding away to- 
ward the bar. A trail of rockets and Drummond 
lights and bombshells from the rest of the fleet fol- 
lowed in our wake, but the friendly flash of signals 
from the fort encouraged us, while Gregory, with 
his masked lights, revealed to them our steady prog- 
ress until we anchored under the Confederate guns. 
It was now broad daylight and the blockading fleet 
had sullenly withdrawn to a safe distance. We pro- 
ceeded toward Fort Anderson and came to anchor 
at quarantine. The clouds had passed away, reveal- 
ing in the brightness of the morning light the stately 
white columns of Orton House in the distance. 
Accompanied by our faithful Scipio and escorted 
beyond the fort by its courteous Colonel Hedrick, 
we proceeded in silence through St. Philip’s church- 
yard and the dead colonial town of Brunswick, past 
Russellboro, where Governor Tryon met the first 
armed colonists (the cradle of American independ- 
ence), through the long avenue of oaks, where, look- 
ing ahead, we beheld a sight which cheered our 
hearts; my friend and his daughter surrounded by 
the yelping hounds returning from a chase, for rey- 
nard’s brush was at her saddlebow. With mutual 


THE LILIAN’S LAST SUCCCESSFUL RUN 285 


exclamations of astonishment and delight we learned 
that the young captain had written by a flag of truce 
of his convalescence in a Northern hospital. I will 
not say the touching words that Scipio heard, as, 
with hands clasped by master and mistress, and with 
bowed head, he received their tearful benedictions. 
My friend has long since gone to his eternal rest 
and Scipio’s white soul soon followed him. They 
are buried at Orton in a grove where the mocking 
bird builds its nest and sings; where, above the mur- 
mur of the tree tops, which bend to the soft south 
wind, is heard the distant booming of the sea, and 
in their death they were not divided. 


Aidit ai 
i Mt i 
if i 


INDEX 


Abaco Light, Federal ships stationed near, 144. 

Ada Iredale (Annie Johnson), derelict merchant ship, 5, 6. 

Adair, Capt. W. F., blockade runner Antonica, 107. 

Advance, blockade runner, ix. 

Agnes E. Fry, steamer, 241. 

Alapaha, steamer, 45. 

Albemarle, Confederate ram, Captain Mafftt ordered to take 
charge of, 266; paper by Captain Maffitt on building 
of, 202. 

Albert, U.S. S., 26. 

Alexander, Captain, Confederate States Signal Corps, 191. 

Allingham, William, quoted, 2-14. 

Alma Cumming, derelict merchant ship, 8. 

Alonzo, blockade runner, ix. 

Amalco, U. S. S., log of gives last information concerning 
U. S. S. Cyclops, 28, 29. 

Antonica,* derelict blockade runner, 107-109. 

Arabian, derelict blockade runner, 90. 

Aries, U.S. S. blockader, 98, 99, 104. 

Arizona, steamship, damage to, 35. 

Atlantic, blockade runner, change of name, 61. 

Badger, derelict blockade runner, 102, 109, 110. 


*Stranded blockade runners are indexed in this book as 
derelict blockade runners. 


287 


288 INDEX 


Badham, Captain, Confederate service, 59. 
Bahnson, Captain, Confederate service, 59. 
Bald Head, wrecks near, 58. 
Banshee, derelict blockade runner, first steel vessel to cross 
Atlantic, 66, 83, 85, 160. 
Banshee, Number 2, blockade runner, 127. 
Bat, blockade runner, 102. 
Beaufort, N. C., held by Federals, 93, 226. 
Beery, Benjamin, 168. 
Bendigo, derelict blockade runner, 105, 106. j 
Bergitte, derelict merchant ship, 7. 
f 
| 
' 
. 


Bermuda, Federal spies in, 276, 

Bertholf, Commodore E. P., letter by, 18-20. 

Bier, Capt. George H., blockade runner Dee, 81. 

Blake, Capt. Eugene, jr., U. S. S. Seminole, official report 
by, 42-47. 

Blockade, Federal, effectiveness of, xii. 

Blockaders, names of: 
Aries, 98, 99, 104; Boston, 203; Cambridge, 60, 81; 
Cherokee, 133; Connecticut, 103, 104; Daylight, 98, 
99, 106; Fahkee, 106; Florida, 54, 55, 56, 76, 252; Fort 
Jackson, 103, 106; Gettysburg, 203; Glaucus, ix; Gov- 
ernor Buckingham, 98, 99, 107; Howgquah, 79; Iron 
Age, 87, 106; James Adger, 195; Keystone State, ix, 
99, 134, 198, 203; Minnesota, 91; Montgomery, 104, 
106; Nansemond, 62, 80, 85, 86; New Berne, 133, 139, 
142; Niphon, 84, 86, 90, 91, 137, 138, 143; Penobscot, 
119; Quaker City, 99, 102, 133; Sassacus, 82, 83; | 
Shenandoah, 94, 141; Shokokon, 91; Stars and Stripes, _ 
60; Tuscarora, 79, 99; stations of, 57, 224. 

Blockade runners, advantages of Wilmington, N. C., as port 
for, 94, 223; cargoes of, 52, 53, 58, 59, 60, 61, 66, 80, 


INDEX 289 


81, 82, 83, 87, 103, 108, 118, 133, 138, 141, 144, 148, 
170, 173, 219; Halifax, N. S., rendezvous of blockade 
runners escaping from Federal prisons, 38 ; losses through 
destruction of, 52; number of (1863), 88, 89; number of 
wrecks on Cape Fear coast of, 51-152; type of construc- 
tion of, 87, 105, 106, 107, 120, 130, 131, 265, 266. 

Blockade running, advantages of North Carolina coast for, 
57; effect of Gulf Stream on, 225, 226; methods of, 57. 

Bonneau, Capt. F. N., blockade runner Ella and Annie, 
quoted, 142; rams U. S. S. Niphon, 137, 140, 143. 

Boston, U. S. blockader, 203. 

Braine, Lieut.-Commander D. L., U.S. S. Monticello, official 
report by, 167-170. 

Breck, Acting Master J. B., U. S. S. Niphon, official reports 
by, 140-143. 

Brown, Governor Joseph (Georgia), part owner of blockade 
runner Florie, 109. 

Brunswick, N. C. (colonial), 169, 284. 

Bulldog, British gunboat, 218. 

Burgoyne, Capt. Hugh, loses life on British man-of-war 
Captain, runs the blockade, 160, 163, 165. 

Burroughs, Captain, blockade runner North Heath, 112-114; 
Cornubia, 192, 193. 

Butler’s powder ship, 162. 

Cambridge, U. S. S. blockader, 60, 81. 

Camp Brown, fort, location of, 169. 

Cantwell, Edward, 63. 

Cape Fear, derelict blockade runner, 112. 

Cape Fear blockade, accounts of, 57-59, 224, 225. 

Cape Fear River, approaches to, 223, 266; forts on, 169. 

Capper, Captain, blockade runner, 67, 70, 71. 

Captain, man-of-war, capsizing of, 33, 165. 


290 INDEX 


Carolina Beach, wrecks near, 79. 

Caswell, Fort, 57, 61, 65, 72, 73, 102, 103, 116, 117, 118, 
135, 174, 210, 266. 

Celestina, derelict merchant ship, 10, II. 

C. E. Morrison, derelict merchant ship, 10. 

Chambers’s Edenburgh Journal, quoted, 2-14, 250-262. 

Chameleon, blockade runner, xii. 

Cherokee, U.S. S. blockader, 133. 

Chickamauga, Confederate warship, 38. 

City of Boston, lost liner, 22, 24. 

City of Glasgow, lost liner, 24. 

City of Paris, steamship, damage to, 32, 33. 

Clark, Chief Justice Walter, mentioned, ix; quoted, xi, xii. 

Clitz, Commander J. M. B., U. S. S. gunboat Penobscot, 
official report by, 171. 

Clover, Admiral Richardson, U. S. hydrographer, 4. 

Coamo, steamer, aid in rescue of steamer Korona by, 43. 

Coast Guard, U. S., coast service of in derelict destruction, 
20; intended international service of in derelict destruc- 
tion, 19; rescue service of, 41-49. 

Condor, British gunboat, lost, 24. 

Condor, derelict blockade runner, 127, 131, 152. 

Confederacy, lack of navy by, x, xi; several times on eve of 
success, Xi. 

Confederate flag, experiences of Captain Whiting with, 216, 
217; meeting of the Lilian at sea with, 278. 

Confederate Government, need of powder by, 241; purchase 
of Virginia by, 112; purchase of Cornubia by, 192; pur- 
chase of Douro by, 79; purchase of Giraffe by, 191; 
seizure of North Heath by, 114. 

Confederate money, depreciation of, 174, 175, 228. 


INDEX 291 


Confederate Navy Department, orders to Capt. John N. 
Maffttt by, 110, 111, 212. 

Confederate States, commissariat of sustained by blockade 
runners, 53. 

Confederate States Signal Corps, work of, 189-198. 

Confederate steamers, attempts of fanatics to destroy, 277. 

Connecticut, U. S. S., blockader, 103. 

Contrabands, intelligent, information secured from, 109, 167- 
175. 

Cornubia, derelict blockade runner, 112, 137, 191-195. 
See also Lady Davis. 

Coxetter, Captain, blockade runner Antonica, 108; Fannie 
and Jennie, 54, 55. 

Craig, Rev. James William, Cape Fear pilot, 95, 267, 268, 
283. 

Crosby, Capt. Peirce, U. S. S. Florida, 54, 56, 76, 77; 
U. S. S. Keystone State, 203. 

Cushing, Lieut. W. B., U. S. S. Shokokon, 91. 

Cyclops, U.S. S. collier, loss of, 25-29. 

Dare, derelict blockade runner, 104, 105. 

David G. Worth, \ost freighter, 21. 

Davis, Hon. George, Attorney-General of the Confederacy, 
quoted, 53. 

Davis, President Jefferson, commissioners sent to England by, 
xi; issue of thanksgiving proclamation by, 173. 

Daylight, U. S. S. blockader, 98, 99, 106. 

Dee, derelict blockade runner, 81, 82. 

Delhi, steamship, stranding of, 33. 

Derelict blockade runners, accounts of, 51-153. 

Derelict blockade runners, accounts of individual ships: 
Antonica, 107-109; Badger, 109, 110; Banshee, 83-85; 
Bendigo, 105, 106; Cape Fear, 112; Cornubia, 191-195; 


292 INDEX 


Dare, 104, 105; Dee, 81, 82; Don, 81; Douro, 79, 80: 
Elizabeth, 61, 62; Ella, 57-59; Ella and Annie, 136- 
143; Emily of London, 55, 56; Fannie and Jennie, 53- 
55; Florie, 109; General Beauregard, 78, 79; Georgiana 
McCaw, 62-66; Hebe, 90-93; Kate, 114-118; Kate, 
second, 118, 119; Lynx, escape of, 95-97; Modern 
Greece, 59-61; Night Hawk, 119-130; North Heath, 
112-114; Nutfeld, 82, 83; Phantom, 103, 104; Peven- 
sey, 131-136; Ranger, 97-100, 101-102; Spunkie, 102, 
103; Venus, 85-88; Vesta, 97, 100, 101; Wild Dayrell, 
72-78. 

Derelict destroyers, 7. 

Derelict merchant ships, accounts of individual ships: 

Ada Iredale (Annie Johnson), 6; Alma Cumming, 8; 
Birgitte, 7; Celestina, 10, 11; C. E. Morrison, 10; 
Drisko, 14; Duncow, 6; Falls of Afton, 6; Fannie E. 
W olston, 16, 17; Glenalvon, 9; Korea, 9; L. E. Cann, 
9, 10; Louise, 8; Marie Celeste, 11; Resolute, H. M. S., 
13, 14; Savannah, 41; Siddartha, 7; Vila, 10; W. L. 
White, 5. 

Derelicts, accounts of, 1-17; drift of, 5, 7, 8, 13, 16, 17; 
failure to destroy, I, 2; fictitious accounts of, 11-13; life 
of, 4, 5, 6, 8; number of, 3, 4; United States destruction 
of asked by international agreement, 18, 19. 

DeRosset, Doctor, 62. 

DeRosset, Mrs. A. J., work for convalescent soldiers by, 229. 

Deserters, condition of, 175; treatment of, 230, 231. 

Devens, Lieut. Edward F., U. S. S. Aries, official report by, 
100, IOI. 

Diamond Shoals, buoy at, 43. 

Dispatch, blockade runner, 66. 

Doggett, Lieutenant, Confederate States Signal Corps, 192. 


INDEX 293 


Don, derelict blockade runner, 81, 164, 177. 

Douro, derelict blockade runner, 62, 79, 80, 87, 90. 

Doyle, Capt. Austin, British steamer Korona, 47. 

Drisko, derelict merchant ship, 14. 

Duncow, derelict merchant ship, 6. 

Ella, derelict blockade runner, 57-59. 

Ella and Annie, blockade runner, capture of, 136, 137, 143; 
named changed, 137. } 

Elizabeth, derelict blockade runner, 61, 62, 106. 

Emily of London, derelict blockade runner, 55, 56. 

Emily St. Pierre, British ship, account of, 250-262. 

Etruria, steamship, swept by tidal wave, 36. 

Eugénie, blockade runner, ix, 240, 241. 

Everson, Acting Master, U. S. S. Victoria, official report by, 
64-66. 

Fahkee, U. S. S. blockader, 106. 

Falcon, blockade runner, 131. 

Falls of Afton, derelict merchant ship, 6. 

Fannie and Jessie, derelict blockade runner, 53-55, 56. 

Fannie E. Wolston, derelict merchant ship, 16, 17. 

Fayetteville, N. C., making of arms and ammunition at, 169. 

Fisher, Fort, 54, 57, 60, 61, 68, 74, 78, 80, 83, 91, 92, 93, 
ene) (11D, DLA, 120) P4r) 159, 16¥; (562, 173174, 
175, 192, 209, 224, 231, 263, 266. 

Flamingo, blockade runner, 131. 

Flora, blockade runner, 196. 

Florida, U.S. S., blockader, 54, 55, 56, 76, 252. 

Florida, Confederate ship, captured by U. S. S. Wachusetts, 
278; cruise of, 202, 277; failure of Commander Preble 
to capture, 205-208; formerly Oreto, 215; meets Lilian 
on high seas, 277, 278; remarkable escape into Mobile 
Bay, 205-207. 


294 INDEX 


Florie, derelict blockade runner, 109. 

Fort Jackson, U.S. S., blockader, 103, 106. 

Forts, see Camp Brown, Caswell, Fisher, Mount Tirza, St. 
Philip. 

Foster, Capt. James, U.S. S. James Adger 195. 

Fraser, Trenholm & Company, owners of Emily St. Pierre, 
2 

Fry, Capt. Joseph, in command of Agnes E. Fry, 241; 
Eugénie, 240; Confederate gunboat Morgan, 241; Vir- 
ginius, 241; sketch of life and death of, 239-244. 

Frying Pan Shoals, buoy at, 46; wrecks near, 107, 108. 

Gale, Captain, blockade runner Lady Davis, 194, 195. 

General Beauregard, derelict blockade runner, 78, 79. 

Georgiana McCaw, derelict blockade runner, 62-66. 

Gettysburg, U.S. S., blockader, 203. 

Gift, Lieut. George W., blockade runner Ranger, 97; official 
report by, IOI, 102. 

Giraffe, blockade runner, name changed, 226; purchased by 
Confederate Government, 191. 

Glenalvon, derelict merchant ship, 9. 

Governor Buckingham, U. S. S., blockader, 98, 99, 107. 

Greenhow, Mrs. Rose O’Neal, aid given Confederacy by, 
148-153; death of, 131, 153, 161; imprisoned in Old 
Capitol Prison, 151. 

Gregory, Frederick W., Confederate States Signal Corps, 
character of, 190; mentioned, 187, 267, 269, 284; 
quoted, 191-193, 194-200. 

Grosvenor, Gilbert H., editor National Geographic Maga- 
zine, quoted, 14-17. 

Gulf Stream, effect on blockade running, 225, 226. 

Guthrie, Captain, 112. 


INDEX 295 


Halifax, Nova Scotia, rendezvous of blockade runners escap- 
ing from Federal prisons, 38. 

Hamilton, Prof. J. G. deRoulhac, v, 53. 

_ Harris, Lieut. T. A., U. S. S. New Berne, official report by, 
132-135. 

Hebe, derelict blockade runner, 80, 87, 90-93. 

Herring, Robert, Confederate States Signal Corps, 191. 

Hewett, Admiral, British Navy, runs the blockade, 127, 131, 
160, 163, 165. 

Hobart, Captain, blockade runner Don, 81, 160, 163, 164, 
1774-178. 

Hobart Pasha. See Hobart, Captain. 

Holcombe, Professor, rescued from drowning, 161. 

Hone, Major, 187. 

Horner, Captain, blockade runner Flora, 196. 

Horner, Joseph, quoted, 21-25, 30-37. 

Howquah, U. S. S., blockader, 79. 

Huronian, lost liner, 24. 

Hydrographic Office, U. S., work regarding derelicts, 4, 7, 
16; 17. 

Index, blockade runner, account of, 196, 197. 

Integrity, finding of valuable derelict by, 9. 

Intelligent contrabands. See Contrabands, intelligent. 

Iron Age, U. S. S., blockader, 87, 106. 

Ionian, steamer, damaged by collision with derelict, 9. 

James Adger, U.S. S%., blockader, capture of Emily St. Pierre 
by, 251, 252; capture of Lady Davis by, 195. 

James T. Petteway, Confederate transport, 118. 

Jordan, Adj.-Gen. Thomas, Confederate Army, 149. 

Kate, derelict blockade runner, 114-118, 120, 170, 173, 213, 
214, 219. 

Kate, second, derelict blockade runner, 118, r19. 


296 INDEX 


Keystone State, U. S. S., blockader, 99, 134, 198, 203. 

Korea, derelict merchant ship, 9. 

Korona, British steamer, account of rescue by U. S. S. 
Seminole, 41-49; aid of steamer Coamo in rescue of, 43; 
letter of Alexander Sprunt & Son relative to rescue 
of, 47, 48; letter of Franklin D. Roosevelt relative to 
rescue of, 48, 49. 

Lady Davis, blockade runner, capture of, 194-196; former 
name of, 112, 137. 

Lamar, Col. C. A. L., part owner of blockade runner Florie, 
109. 

Lamb, Col. William, commander of Fort Fisher, 67, 69, 85, 
93, 97, 157, 173, 193, 197, 231; quoted, 157-163. 

Lamb, Mrs. William, story of devotion of, 157-163. 

Lamson, Lieutenant, U. S. S. Nansemond, official report by, 
85-87. 

Lancaster, finding of derelict by, 9. 

Lawley, Francis C., correspondent of London Times, 160. 

L. E. Cann, derelict merchant ship, 9, 10. 

Lee, Gen. R. E., loss of gift sword for, 55. 

Lee, Admiral S. P., U. S. Navy, commanding North Atlantic 
Blockading Squadron, 74, 78, 106, 135, 143; official 
reports by, 98-100, 135, 136, 137-139. 

Lights. See Range Lights. 

Lilian, blockade runner, account of last successful run of, 
263-285 ; capture of, 38, 203 ; chase of, 94, 95, 264, 265, 
279-284; mentioned, ix, 39, 177, 202; quarantine ex- 
periences of, 181-188. 

Loch Torridon, steamship, swept by tidal wave, 36. 

Lockwood, Capt. Thomas J., blockade runner Elizabeth, 61; 
Kate, 115, 116, 117, 213. 

Lockwood’s Folly, wrecks near, 52, 61, 106. 


INDEX 297 


London, sinking of, 22. 

Long, Joseph Brown, 131, 134. 

Lorraine, Sir Lambton, captain British man-of-war, Niobe, 
rescue of part of crew of steamer Virginius by, 244, 245. 

Lost Liners, accounts of, 21-40; financial losses by, 23 ; num- 
ber of, 22; number of lives lost on, 23. 

Lost liners, accounts of individual ships: 
City of Boston, 22, 24; City of Glasgow 24; Cyclops, 
25-29; David G. Worth, 21; Huronian, 24; Naronic, 
24, 25; Pacific, 22, 24, 35; Pericles, 35; President, 22, 
23, 24; Tempest, 24; Thanemore, 22. 

Louise, derelict merchant ship, 8. 

Lumina, N. C., wreck near, 55. 

Lynx, derelict blockade runner, 95-97, 102, 110. 

McCaleb, Flora, 112. 

McCrae, Lieut.-Col. John, quoted, vii. 

McDonald, Captain, ship Storm King, 184, 185, 186, 188. 

McDougal, George C., character of, 61; mentioned, 115, 
116, 118; quoted, 213-219. 

Macon, Fort, 134. 

Mafftt, Eugene, 188. 

Maffitt, Capt. John Newland, account of activities in Con- 
federate Navy, 201-212; attempts to enter forts taken 
by Federals, 209, 210; character and ability of, 203, 204; 
daring run of, 143-148; dispute with American consul 
at Nassau, 216; finding of last port closed, 199, 201, 
202; in command of Lilian, 39, 266; of Owl, xii, 110; 
last voyage in command of Owl, 208-212; mentioned, 
109, II1; orders to, 110, 212, 266; paper on building 
of ram Albemarle, 202; regard of Federal officers for, 
203, 204; remarkable run into Mobile Bay on Florida by, 
205-207; rescue of Spanish barque by, 145, 146; takes 


ai 
a 


298 INDEX 


charge of ram Albemarle, 266; of Oreto (Florida), 
215, 278. 

Malingerers, stories about, 177-179. 

Mallory, Hon. S. R., Secretary of Confederate Navy, men- 
tioned, 276; order by, 110, III. 

Malvern, U. S. S., blockader, 137. 

Maratanza, U.S. S., blockader, 170, 171. 

Margaret and Jessie, blockade runner, a normal experience 
of, 235-237. 

Margaret and Jessie, U. S. S., former blockade runner, 137, 
198. 

Marie Celeste, derelict merchant ship, 11. 

Mariner, tug, runs the blockade, 173, 174. 

Marshall, Captain, blockade runner Index, 196, 197, 198. 

Martin, Captain, blockade runner Susan Beirne, 199. 

Martin, Alfred, 62. 

Martin, E. S., 62, 63, 64, 210. 

Mary Celeste, blockade runner, 219. 

Masonboro Inlet, wrecks near, 56, 80, 81, 87, 90. 

Masonboro Sound, wrecks near, 90. 

Maury, Gen. Dabney H., 241. 

Merrimac, Confederate ironclad, x. 

Meteorological Office, British, work regarding derelicts, 4. 

Minnesota, U. S. S., blockader, 91, 92, 102. 

Modern Greece, derelict blockade runner, 59-61, 173. 

Montgomery, U.S. S., blockader, 104, 106. 

Morgan, Confederate gunboat, 241. 

Morrelle, Doctor, 63. 

Morris, Capt. Charles M., Confederate ship Florida, 278. 

“Mound,” Colonel Lamb erects, 231; range lights on, 231- 
233. 

Mount Tirza, Fort, location of, 169. 


s 


INDEX 299 


Munn, Captain, 91, 92. 

Murray-Aynsley, Admiral, British Navy, 160, 164, 165, 166. 

Nansemond, U. S. S., blockader, 62, 80, 86, 87. 

Naronic, lost liner, 24, 25. 

Narrative of a Blockade Runner, extracts from, 221-231. 

Nassau, British port of blockade runners, 71, 79, 170, 237; 
Federal spies in, 276; incidents in, 213-219. 

Naval History of the Civil War, extracts from, 203-207. 

Navy, Federal, contribution to success of North in Civil War, 
X, XIi. 

Near derelict, account of, 143-148. 

New Berne, N. C., 93. 

New Berne, U. S. S., blockader, 133, 139, 142. 

New Inlet, mentioned, 57, 60, 63, 80, 83, 90, 103, 119, 
122, 138, 196; wrecks near, 59, 152, 170. 

Night Hawk, derelict blockade runner, 119-130, 152, 160. 

Niobe, British man-of-war, rescue of part of crew of steamer 
Virginius by, 244-245. 

Niphon, U. S. S., blockader, 84, 86, 90, 91, 137, 138, 139, 
140, 142, 143. 

Normania, steamship, swept by tidal wave, 36. 

North American Blockading Squadron, go. 

North Carolina, Confederate gunboat, building of, 168. 

North Carolina coast, advantages for blockade running, 57, 
223. 

Northfleet, sinking of, 22. 

North Heath, derelict blockade runner, ix, 112-114. 

Nutfield, derelict blockade runner, 82, 83. 

Nutt, Henry, 63. } 

Old Capitol Prison, Mrs. Greenhow imprisoned in, 151. 

Old Inlet, mentioned, 57. 

Oreto. See Florida, Confederate ship. 


300 . INDEX 


Owl, blockade runner, 102, 199, 208-212. 

Pacific, lost liner, 22, 24, 35. 

Penobscot, U. S. S., blockader, 119, 171. 

Pericles, steamship, destruction of, 35. ~ 

Peters, W. H. C., Confederate Government agent in Wil- 
mington, III. 

Pevensey, derelict blockade runner, 131-136. 

Phantom, derelict blockade runner, 90, 102, 103, 104. 

Porcher, Doctor, 275. 

Porter, Admiral David D., U. S. Navy, commander attacks 
on Fort Fisher, 162, 209; quoted, 204-207. 

Preble, Commander, U. S. Navy, failure to capture Con- 
federate ship Florida, 205-208. 

President, lost liner, 22, 23, 24. 

Prioleau, Charles K., 262. 

Ptarmigan, blockade runner, 131. 

Quaker City, U.S. S., blockader, 99, 102, 133. 

Quarantine experiences of blockade runner Lilian, 181-188. 

Range lights, along Southern coast, 231; on the “Mound,” 
231-233. 

Ranger, derelict blockade runner, 97-100, 101, 102. 

Reed, Captain, blockade runner Lynx, 95-97. 

R. E. Lee, blockade runner, successful deception by, 226, 227. 

Resolute (British), derelict merchant ship, 13, 14. 

Ridgely, Captain, U. S. S. Shenandoah, 78. 

Roberts, Captain. See Hobart. 

Roberts, Lieutenant, captain of the President and the Sirius, 
2a. 

Roe, Lieut.-Commander F. A., U. S. S. Sassacus, official re- 
port by, 75-78. 

Roosevelt, Hon. Franklin D., letter relative to rescue of 
steamer Korona from, 48, 49; order declaring Cyclops 
lost signed by, 29. 


4 
pom 
wale 
—— 


INDEX 301 


Rosario, steamship, swept by tidal wave, 36. 

Rouen, blockade runner, capture of, 198. 

Royal Charter, sinking of, 22. 

Russellboro, N. C. (colonial), 284. 

St. Philip, Fort, location of, 169. 

San Francisco, destruction of a derelict by, 14. 

Sassacus, U. S. S., blockader, 74-77, 82, 83. 

Savannah, derelict merchant ship, 41. 

Scharf, Colonel, mentioned, 202; quoted, 231. 

Scipio, family servant, story of, 271-275, 285. 

Scotch brig, story of capture in 1813, 247-249. 

Seddon, Hon. James A., Confederate Secretary of War, 
91, 93. 

Seminole, U.S. S., rescue work of, 41-49. 

Semmes, Captain, mentioned, 203, 204. 

Shenandoah, U. S. S., blockader, abstract log of, 264, 265; 
chases Lilian, 78, 94, 95}; mentioned, 141. 

Ships, causes of destruction of, 30-40; damage by tidal waves 
to, 36, 37; malicious destruction of, 9, 10, 37-40. 

Shokokon, U. S. S., blockader, 91. 

Siddartha, derelict barque, 7. 

Sirius, first English-owned steamer to cross Atlantic, 23. 

Smith, Capt. C. G., quoted, 235-237. 

Smith’s Island, 223. 

Smithville, N. C. See Southport, N. C. 

Southern Historical Papers, extracts from, 157-163. 

Southport, N. C., mentioned, 223, 230; wrecks near, 115. 

Spanish barque, rescue by Captain Maffitt of, 145, 146. 

Spanish Government, recognition of American rights to 
steamer Virginius by, 246. 

Spies, Federal, in Bermuda and Nassau, 276. 

Sprunt, Alexander, 63. 


302 INDEX 


Sprunt, Alexander & Son, letter relative to rescue of steamer 
Korona from, 47, 48. 

Spunkie, derelict blockade runner, 102, 103. 

Stars and Stripes, U. S. S., blockader, 60. 

Steele, Captain, blockade runner Banshee, 84; mentioned, 
74, 163. 

Storm King, 184, 185. 

Stubbs, Captain, blockade runner Kate, second, 118. 

Susan Beirne, blockade runner, ix, 199. 

Tallahassee, Confederate warship, 38. 

Taylor, Thomas E., escapes from Federal captors, 160, 161; 
mentioned, 153; quoted, 67-74, 83-85, 120-130, 163-166. 

Tempest, lost liner, 24. 

Terry, General, commands land attack on Fort Fisher, 209. 

Thanemore, lost liner, 22. 

Three-funnel boats, account of, 130, 131. 

Tidal waves, ships damaged by, 36, 37. 

Titanic, iceberg causes sinking of, 15. 

Topsail Inlet, wrecks near, 52, 75. 

Tornado, Spanish man-of-war, capture of steamer Virginius 
by, 243. : 

Tuscarora, U. S. S., blockader, 79, 99. 

Umbria, steamship, swept by tidal wave, 36. 

Usina, Capt. Michael, quoted, 108, 109. 

Venus, derelict blockade runner, 85-88, 90, 166. 

Vesta, derelict blockade runner, 97, 100, 101. 

Vila, derelict merchant ship, 10. 

Virgin, steamer. See Virginius. 

Virginia, blockade runner, name changed, 112. 

Virginius, steamer, barbarous treatment of officers and crew 
by Spaniards, 243, 244; capture of, 243; recognition by 
Spanish Government of American rights to, 246; rescue 
of part of crew of, 244, 245; sale of, 242; sinking of, 246. 


| 
: 


INDEX 303 


Vizetelly, Frank, correspondent of London Illustrated News, 
160, 163. 

Vogel, Capt. Leo, 187. 

Vulture, blockade runner, 131. 

Wachusett, U. S. S., capture of C. S. Florida by, 278. 

Walker, Maj. Norman S., Confederate agent, 131, 134. 

Wartah, steamship, capsizing of, 33, 34. 

Welles, Hon. Gideon, Secretary U. S. Navy, 100, 136, 142, 
225. 

Western Bar of Cape Fear River, 223, 236. 

Whiting, American consul at Nassau, dispute with Captain 
Mafhtt, 216; experience with Confederate flag, 216, 217. 

Whiting, Gen. W. H. C., commander Confederate forces in 
Wilmington, 91; mentioned, 67, 162, 191, 192; official 
report by, 91-93. 

Whitworth guns, 54, 58, 83, 91, 92, 93, 134, 170, 193, 197. 

Wild Dayrell, derelict blockade runner, 66, 72-78. 

Wilkes, Commodore, 108, 109. 

Wilkinson, Capt. John, account of activities in Confederate 
Navy, 221-227 ; commander blockade runner Chameleon, 
xii; C. S. steamer, R. E. Lee, 221; quoted, 221-231, 
231-233. 

Will-o’-the-W isp, blockade runner, 121. 

Williams, Robert, 198. 

Williams, Capt. Thomas, 21. 

Wilmington, N. C., advantages as port for blockade runners, 
57, 94, 223, 266; approaches to, 266; Confederate troops 
stationed in and around, 92, 174; construction of Con- 
federate ships at, 172, 174; effect of the war on, 227-229. 

Wilmington Historical and Literary Society, investigations 
by, 62-64. 


304 INDEX 


Wilson, Captain, blockade runner Margaret and Jessie, 235, 
236. 

Wilson, Rev. Doctor, father of the President, 62. 

Wilson, Capt. William, account of exploits with ship Emily 
St. Pierre, 250-262. 

Wise, Captain, blockade runner Cape Fear, 112. 

W. L. White, derelict merchant ship, 5. 

Wood, Doctor, 63. 

Wrightsville Beach, wrecks near, 51, 56. 

Yamacraw, Coast Guard cutter, 45. 


973.75 S77ID 54453 


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